The Great Mako War
by wolf777
Summary: Sequel to 'A New World' Strangers become friends and battle adversity to find their taken friend, Cloud strife. What they stumble upon could mean the end of the freedom the world enjoys.
1. Chapter 1

_**When the God's are gone and humans are left to dictate their own fates, will they flourish in their new found freedom or will the struggle for power corrupt the world.**_

Cloud's mako eyes opened when he heard the light footsteps of Claire and the delightful smell of bacon on toast wafted through the bedroom door. The blonde sat up in bed to the sight of the rose haired beauty leaning on the door frame with a tray full of mouthwatering breakfast, wearing a vest top and pajama shorts that didn't leave a great deal to the imagination.

"Good morning." Claire smiled warmly as she walked over to Cloud who had now sat up in bed. "I made you breakfast." She added, placing the tray on his lap and giving him a quick but loving kiss before she began to get changed.

"Thank you.. It's not like you to be up before me. You sleep okay?" He asked as he gratefully tucked into his lovingly prepared breakfast. "You have oil on your cheek."

"I was giving the Camaro a service, sounded a little rough yesterday." She said convincingly as she peered into the large mirror on her dresser and rubbed it off quickly.. _Nearly got caught making the final adjustments on his surprise already Farron! _She mentally scalded herself. "Oh, Reno called. Said he needed to see you. Sazh is coming for you in an hour."

"Really?" Cloud groaned. "What does he want?"

"Didn't say.. Just said it was urgent." She answered. "Besides.. I've gotta take Duke to the vet's for a checkup."

"Can't we swap?" The blonde asked, only half joking.

"Might as well go and see what he wants.. Not like you should be doing anything special today." She added, waiting to see his response.

If it wasn't for Vincent telling him the other day, he himself wouldn't have realized it was his birthday. He thought on about the many nights that he and Claire sat up chatting and realized that he had never told her when his birthday was; not that he wanted a fuss in any way, shape or form. He decided to spare Claire from any misplaced guilty feelings and not explain to her that today was his 25th birthday.

"I guess you're right." He said as he finished the last of the breakfast.

"I'm always right." Claire grinned, as she walked over to the blonde, placing her hands on his face and kissing him passionately. "Hurry back.." She finished as she grabbed her cropped leather jacket from the closet and trotted out of the room. "Duke! Come on!"

Cloud climbed out of bed and walked over to the window to find Claire and Duke get into the car and drive off. He waited by the window for a moment, allowing the sun's rays to wash over his body, slowly warming him. The blonde closed his mako blue eyes and envisioned the woman that had only just left his side. He thought about just how lucky he was that his life had finally turned around and for the first time in forever he was truly happy. His daydreams about the rose haired beauty ended with the sound of his phone ringing on the bedside table.

"Hey! It's Sazh. Just letting you know I'll be touching down at the edge of town in fifteen minutes." The afro haired pilot explained.

"Okay Sazh, see you in fifteen." He replied.

The cerulean eyed man quickly got changed and began to jog down the street to the edge of town. The once quiet town had now doubled in size and almost half of it's occupants where from Edge. Each one went out of their way to say 'good morning' to Cloud as he past them in the street, making him feel very much part of the community.

He got to the edge of town before the helicopter had arrived and spent the time waiting on attempting to guess what Reno wanted him for. _Whatever Reno wants... It had better be good.. _Cloud thought, as he watched the helicopter he was expecting head towards him.

"Hey Denzel, It's Claire.. Barret's plan worked and Cloud is now on a helicopter to the other side of the country. Do you guy's still need help with the party?.. Okay sure, I'll be 5 minutes... Are you sure Tifa won't mind? I don't wanna step on her toes.. Okay then see you in a sec." Claire told Denzel over the phone.

Claire started the car and pulled out of the alley she had parked in to avoid Cloud and headed towards seventh heaven. Upon her arrival, she opened the door of the bar to chaos. Tifa was instructing barret on what wine and beer he needed to go and collect for tonight, annoying him as she mentioned breaking bottles with his bad driving. Marlene and Denzel argued over what songs should be played tonight whilst Nanaki sat in the corner, attempting to block out the racket. Whilst tempted to sit by Nanaki and see just how long it would take them to notice she was there, Claire decided to make her presence known and offer to help in any way she could.

"Need some help?" She asked, sending the room into silence.

There was a brief awkwardness as the two alpha females first made eye contact but Tifa's warm smile eased Claire's nerves. They both liked each other and both have more in common than they would admit to but the pair's interactions have always been tense. The insecurities Claire has about herself were amplified when she looks at Tifa, who she considers to be extremely attractive and being Cloud's oldest friend and rock for years plants thoughts in her mind about Cloud leaving her one day for Tifa. Tifa however became instantly jealous over just how quickly Claire was able to break down the blonde's impenetrable walls and get him to do what she couldn't. Fall in love with her.

"That would be great." Tifa smiled warmly. "Could you help Barret stock up on the beer and wine for tonight? I'd rather you drove." She added, earning her a hurt look from the muscular mountain of a man.

"Sure thing. Let's go big guy." Claire said, strangely eager to be accepted by Clouds group.

Barret did as he was told and followed the pink haired woman outside and watched her walk over to the drivers side of the pickup truck before turning and holding out her hand, gesturing that she wanted the keys. Barret sighed but eventually handed the key over and sulked round the other side and climbed into the passenger seat. The car remained silent for the first couple of blocks but eventually the man mountain spoke.

"Hey, is your sister coming tonight?" He asked.

"yeah, why?" Claire replied.

"I just wanna thank her. Marlene said she's the best teacher she's ever had and has been helping her fit in with the other kids." Barret said with a warm smile.

"I'll make sure she comes." She said. "Right.. So whats first on the list?"

Cloud watched as the skyscraper that Hope used as a headquarters to run everything came into view. The tallest structure in the city looked just as grand as the first time he laid eyes on it. As Sazh Slowly maneuvered the chopper over the helipad to land, the blonde caught sight of Reno who was stood next to the lift that scaled the building.

"Thanks Sazh." Cloud said, patting the man on the shoulder as he jumped from the helicopter and headed towards Reno.

"Hey, Cloud." Reno said with a grin.

"What do you want?..." The mako eyed man replied coldly.

"Why are you always so grumpy? Come on, I'll show you." The red haired turk said as he opened the lift.

The lift doors slid open onto the floor that contained the VR training room that Cloud had previously been on. He looked around the floor for an inkling of why he was here but saw nothing but young men and women, all wearing suits.

"Those guys are potential turks- I mean CIA... Damn that's gonna take a while to get used to.. Anyway.. That's why you're here-"

"I told you.. I'm not interested in joining you guys, or wearing those ridiculous suits.." Cloud said, becoming increasingly annoyed that he wasn't with Claire.

"Heeey! I like my suit! You wouldn't make the cut anyway! We just need you to have a go in the battle simulator to calibrate it for us so we can start training the new recruits."

"Why can't you do it?" The blonde asked, not wishing to participate.

"If it was up to me I would.. But Rufus said you need to do it. He want's the machines artificial intelligence to be a challenge for anyone. He said there could be a recruit out there who is tougher than me and Rude but the chances of anyone being able to beat you are miniscule- His words not mine... I'd kick your ass." Reno joked.

"Not interested.." The mako eyed man said as he returned to the lift and waited for Reno to activate it with his key card.

Reno pulled out his phone and quickly dialed his best friend and work partner Rude, who was on standby in the towers power control station. "He's not took the bait! Plan B! 10 Seconds! Tifa owes me for this!"

The Red haired former turk jammed the phone into his pocket and ran inside the lift and swiped his keycard on the lift's control panel before selecting the roof. The lift set off and began its slow ascent to the roof and the helipad where Sazh waited patiently for the blonde's return. Cloud watched as the numbers on the lift rose one by one until the small metal box came to a sudden stop and the lights went out, activating the red glow of the emergency lighting system.

"Oh no... Would you look at that.. The lift's broke." Reno said in the least convincing voice anyone had ever heard. "I hope it doesn't take long..."

"Great.." Cloud sighed, as he sat down on the floor and tried his best to block out Reno's constant chatting. _I'm gonna kill him..._

In no time at all, Barret's pickup truck pulled up outside Tifa's bar and the two shopping buddies climbed out of the truck. Claire held the bar's door open while the gun armed Goliath carried in two heavy kegs of beer before returning to the truck for the wine.

"That was quick. You guy's get it all?" Tifa asked.

"Yep, all of it." Claire said proudly. "Oh do you mind if I hide Cloud's present around the back here?"

"Sure. What is it?" She asked with great curiosity.

"You'll see." The pink haired beauty said as she trotted out of the door, leaving Duke to continue his playtime with Marlene.

Half an hour later a familiar rumble sent everyone but Denzel rushing over to the windows of the bar. Sure enough, the sight of Cloud's famous bike, Fenrir came into view with Claire riding it carefully down the street and pulling it up behind the building. Everyone rushed outside; including Nanaki to take a look at something they never thought they'd see again.

"Where the hell you get that!?" Barret asked, dumbfounded.

"I built it all on my own.. Every night for a month in my garage. It's taken every ounce of skill I have just to keep it hidden from him for so long." she chuckled.

"He'll love it." Tifa said before returning into the bar.

The small group all watched her leave abruptly before returning their gaze to the bike, admiring it's sleek black body that contrasted with the golden engine casings and exhaust. One by one they all returned back inside to help Tifa until only Claire and Denzel remained outside.

"Hey.. Thanks for helping me.. I couldn't have done it without you." Claire smiled. "Sorry I said that I built it on my own. I didn't wanna get you in trouble with Tifa."

"Don't worry about it, I enjoyed it. Besides.. You're the only one who was willing to teach me how to fight. I owed you one." Denzel said as he helped Claire pull a thick white sheet over the bike to conceal it.

Two hours later and Seventh Heaven had been transformed into a private party room for Cloud and his friends to let their hair down and drink the night away in celebration of the blonde's 25th birthday. Birthday banners lined the walls and glasses had already been laid out on the formation of small tables that formed one huge one, big enough to seat everyone. Tifa's cell phone vibrated in her pocket and the message it displayed caused her to crack a smile for the first time since she saw Claire's present.

"Rude just text. Said Cloud didn't fall for it so they had to lock him in a lift with Reno to stop him leaving. He said they had to let him go though because he threatened to use Reno as a battering ram to break the lift doors down.. I guess I owe Reno a drink." Tifa laughed.

"Well wadd'ya know.. There actually useful for something." Barret said, chuckling to himself.

"Cloud should be landing in an hour or so. I better get home and wait for him to get back." Claire said. "Come on Duke!"

As soon as Claire got home, she ran upstairs and took of her clothes, throwing them into a corner. She walked over to her dresser and looked into the large mirror that sat on top of it and began to survey her body from head to toe before letting out a sigh.. _Not quite Tifa.. Am I?.._She thought to herself, worrying about the brunette bombshell taking Cloud away from her. She had never been bothered by her appearance but with the arrival of Tifa, Claire couldn't help but compare herself, destroying a piece of her self worth every time she did.

Shaking the feeling of insecurity away, the rose haired beauty sat on the edge of her bed and began to mess with her hair as she kept her eyes fixated on the mirror. Claire picked up her cell phone several times, wanting to call her sister but the thought of asking her for 'bedroom' advice made her cringe and the fact that anything her little sister told her would have guaranteed that she would never be able to look Snow in the eye again. _This is ridiculous.. I'm being ridiculous...__You can do this.._

Cloud walked up the driveway, still angry at the days events and opened the front door to be met by Duke, who jumped up at him in excitement. After the bear like dog had been played with enough, he left the blonde to shut the door behind him and walk across the open plan floor towards the stairs.

"How was your day?" Claire shouted down the stairs, glad that Cloud could not see her smiling face.

"Put it this way.. I don't ever want to see Reno again.." He said in an annoyed tone as he began to climb the stairs.

"That bad hm?"

"I was trapped in a lift for what felt like all eternity with someone that doesn't understand silen-" Cloud stopped dead at the top of the stairs at the sight of Claire leaning on the door frame of their bedroom wearing nothing but a silk robe.

She threw a seductive glance at the blonde before disappearing into the bedroom without saying a word. Cloud walked slowly across the hallway as if in a trance, hypnotized by her beauty. He made it to the room and walked inside, stopping at the foot of the bed with a confused look on his face. _Where did she go? _

Claire, who had been stood behind the open door pushed it closed, attracting the blonde's attention and causing him to turn as she let the black silk robe fall from her shoulders, revealing her toned, porcelain skinned body. She paced towards him slowly, watching him examining her body without blinking until his face was inches from her own.

"Happy birthday." She whispered seductively as she pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him.

Cloud could hear his ever increasing heartbeat thumping loudly in his ears as the warmth of Claire's breath on his skin sent a shiver down his spine. She kissed him softly at first, before increasing in intensity and trailing kisses down his neck and onto his collarbone as she began to unzip his shirt. The pink haired beauty's hands began to wander across his torso as she felt him run his fingers though her hair and pull her closer.

Soon enough, Claire had removed all of her mako eyed lover's clothes without her lips ever leaving him. She rolled to the side and pulled him on top of her in one swift motion as she wrapped her legs around the blonde and pulled him towards her. Claire exhaled and let out a muffled moan as Cloud slowly pushed himself inside of her. The blonde gripped the back of her slender leg, pulling her closer to him as she arched her back in pleasure. Her finger nails clawed into his back when he thrust faster and deeper, building up momentum as her moans grew in volume until she climaxed. Claire bit her lip as the wave of pleasure took over her body, causing it to tremble until he to had finished. Cloud stayed inside of her as he looked down on the woman he loved more than anything in the world.

"I love you, Cloud.." She whispered, running her slender fingers through his blonde locks as she caught her breath.

"I love you too." Cloud replied as he gazed into her pale blue eyes.

"I think I'm gonna need another shower before we go out." She laughed, wiping the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.

"Out?" The blonde asked in curiosity.

"Yeah, out." Claire smiled, not willing to reveal anything.

Cloud tried to read her eyes but the secret was not leaving here. He moved from on top of Claire and lay by her side in the king sized bed, pulling her close to him, enjoying the warmth of her body on his. Their eyes began to shut as they fought their tiredness, knowing a dream could no longer beat reality. Claire was the first to wake, half an hour later and climbed off the bed and took a shower.

The hot shower massaged her naked body as she thought about the man who slept in her bed. She couldn't help but smile proudly at how seemingly well her attempt at being 'sexy' went and even laughed at despite everything she had overcome in her life, this was the scariest thing she had ever done. Claire climbed out of the shower and dried herself before returning to the bedroom and searching her closet for her ripped skinny jeans. Her pale blue eyes fell onto the blonde, who slept with a warm smile, as she wished they could spend the day in bed together. _I guess I'll have to share you for today.._

"Time to get up.." Claire whispered softly in Cloud's ear, waking him.

"Sorry.. I fell asleep.." He yawned.

"Get ready, we're going out." She smiled. "I'll be downstairs."

Cloud jogged down the stairs ten minutes later, still none the wiser on where Claire was taking him. He found her sat on the sofa, trying to fend off Duke who was in the mood to play. As soon as the blonde's boots touched the floor, Claire pinned Duke to the sofa, winning their wrestling match and ushered him out of the door and into the car.

"You gonna tell me where we're going yet?" He asked.

"We're going to see Reno." She Joked, smiling as his face dropped.

Cloud stayed silent, not wishing to protest to her and watched as she drove down the street towards the newly built end of town until they stopped outside a closed 7th heaven. He gave her a puzzled look but followed her out of the car and over to the door.

"After you.." Claire said menacingly, causing him to hesitate slightly, genuinely worried about what was on the other side of the door.

"SURPRISE!"

The lights turned on to reveal Cloud's friends lining the bar, laying in wait for him.

"Happy birthday, Cloud!" They shouted in unison as they pulled him inside the building.

"Here." Tifa said as she offered him a glass of whiskey. "Beer Light?"

"Yes please." She said, following the brunette to the bar, leaving Cloud to be ambushed by his friends.

Hours past and the party progressed deep into the night until Marlene could not keep her eyes open any longer.

"Goodnight Cloud. Happy birthday old man!" Marlene joked, hugging him tightly.

"Sweet dreams, Marlene. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled as he watched her disappear upstairs.

"I wanna wait until I see the presents!" Denzel pleaded, earning him another 5 minutes away from his bed.

"Yeah! Open ours first!" Yuffie shouted, handing over a badly wrapped present.

Cloud ripped of the wrapping to reveal a glass box that contained a fist sized emerald rock.

"They said it would take years for materia to form naturally on this planet. But Tifa and I found a cave near where omega was and we found some! Can't get it to work though.." The young ninja said proudly.

Claire snatched the Emerald from the blonde's hand and examined it closely in disbelief.

"Yuffie.. This isn't materia.. It's an emerald... The biggest one I've ever seen.." The pink haired woman explained, handing it back.

"Aww.. whats an emerald?" Tifa said with disappointment.

"That little rock is worth about three million gill." Claire said, sending the room into silence.

"We found a cave full of it.." Tifa mumbled, still in shock.

"I'm rich!.. I mean.. We're rich!" Yuffie shouted, correcting herself as she danced around the room.

Barret was next to pull out a small ceramic pot that contained an instantly recognizable bunch of delicate yellow and white flowers that his fallen friend Aeris was famous for.

"Not quite a million gill rock but I know you like them. I found them on my travels over the grassy planes where the battle was fought. They've always been a good luck charm for us on our world.. Maybe they will bring us good fortune in here.. Seems to be working already." Barret said in his deep voice as he pointed to the young ninja.

"They're perfect, thank you, Barret.." He nodded.

A knock on the door briefly ended the present giving as Cloud opened the door to Find Serah and Snow in the doorway. He invited them in, receiving a bear hug and pat on the back by Snow who wished him a happy birthday as he entered.

"Okay.. We have to go outside to see my present." Claire said.

"I thought 'that' was my present." The blonde said, insinuating their love making only an hour ago.

"If you think you have to wait till your next birthday then you're gonna be in for a shock tomorrow.." She whispered in his ear, purposely loud enough for Tifa, who was behind him to hear.

Cloud's cheeks burned red at her words and his mind raced to another passionate encounter with the rose haired beauty. She lead him out of the back door of the bar and got everyone, including Denzel to gather around the veiled object.

"Denzel, you wanna do the honors?" Claire asked.

Denzel grabbed the edge of the white sheet and built up the tension before pulling it swiftly to reveal the gloss black motorcycle that was Cloud's prized possession. They all turned to Cloud who stood in stunned silence, never blinking. He slowly walked over to the machine rubbing his fingertips over the body work as he circled it. Claire caught Denzel's eye and gave him an appreciative wink as the blonde threw his leg over the motorcycle and started it up.

"Woah! Thats cool!" Snow shouted with enthusiasm.

"I never thought I'd see this again.. How did you?-"

"I built it. Why do you think you've been banned from the garage for a month." Claire laughed.

"Do you mind if I-"

"Have fun." She interrupted with a warm smile.

Without a seconds hesitation, Cloud set off out of the alleyway and onto the road, thoroughly looking forward to the experience of riding his motorcycle again. He pinned the throttle back and launched himself down the street as he weaved across the empty roads, testing the bike's maneuverability. The blonde didn't know how she had done it but Claire had masterfully remade his prized possession to the finest of details. _You never fail to impress me Claire Farron.._

After a quick blast down the country roads that poured out from the town he headed back to the bar with an uncharacteristic grin on his face. A birthday party and presents where the last things he wanted this morning but up to now he had the girl of his dreams, his prized possession, a memento of his fallen friend and a gemstone from Tifa and Yuffie that was worth more Gill than he could ever imagine.

His daydreams stopped as he approached the town's boarder to find a dark figure laying in the road, motionless. Anchoring on the brakes, Cloud stopped in front of the body and leaped of his bike to assist. The body seemed female by the subtle heels on her feet but her body was covered in a large hooded coat. The blonde knelt by her side to assess the situation but felt something sharp pierce his leg. Thinking nothing of the tiny prick, he pulled the hood back to reveal a woman with long, red hair.

"I know you..." Cloud mumbled to himself as he looked at her sleeping features.

"I'm heart broken.." The woman said in a toneless voice as she opened her eyes, causing the blonde to jump.

"April!? What do you want!?" He shouted, dropping her and climbing to his feet, instantly realizing something wasn't right.

"You're gonna be my new play thing.. Whatever is inside of you that makes you so tough is now abundant in the planet.. We found scientists from your world that explained everything.." April smiled menacingly as she watched Cloud's legs give way from under him.

"What.. have you.. done to me?..." He strained.

"I've perfected the formula with my new found knowledge.. Your body will slide into a coma until I administer a vaccine." She explained as she knelt over the blonde. "Don't fight it my darling.. Only pain comes from resisting." The red haired scientist said as she stroked his face.

A black van reversed out of the alleyway and two masked men jumped out and slid the large side door open. April signaled them over and the two brutes lifted Cloud off the ground and unceremoniously threw him into the back of the van before jumping in with him. The Disciple scientist walked casually towards the van, checking the area for witnesses and then set off into the night.

Four hours passed and Claire was now becoming increasingly worried about the man she loved. Thoughts of him involved in an accident passed through her mind and the fear of him injured because she built the bike wrong had her sitting in silence in the corner until a bottle was placed in front of her. Claire looked up to find the last person she expected to see in front of her. Tifa.

"You worried too?" Claire asked.

"A little.. I didn't think he'd go out for so long.. Then again.. He did this to me too.." Tifa sighed.

"Did what?" Claire asked.

"Just get up and leave one day.." The crimson eyed woman said.

"He wouldn't do that to me.." She said angrily, unsure if Tifa was just trying to provoke her. "I'm going to go look for him.."

"We'll all help.." Vincent said, seemingly appearing from nowhere.

Second's later everyone had piled out of the bar but Barret who waited with Denzel and Marlene. Nanaki sprinted off into the distance like a bolt of lightning as everyone else climbed into their cars. After half an hour of searching, Tifa's phone rang in her pocket. Pulling it out in great haste, she answered the phone to hear Vincent's ever calm voice.

"I have found Fenrir, Claire needs to see this.. East border of town near the exit road."

Claire yanked the handbrake and spun Barret's truck in the road. She floored the throttle, leaving two, fifty foot tire marks on the road. Tifa held her seat belt as the rose haired beauty flew down the road, passing red lights without hesitation. A few minutes later she laid her eyes on Vincent's flowing tattered cape stood next to Cloud's motorcycle. The pickup truck had barely stopped when Claire leaped out of the car and ran over to Vincent who began to give his verdict on the scene.

"The motorcycle is intact and still runs.. He stopped of his own free will.. There seems to be fresh tire tracks leaving the town.." The perceptive former turk told her.

Claire examined her environment looking for clues as Tifa got out of the car. She examined the houses that lined the street and a small grocery shop on the corner, dismissing them for evidence until a small security camera caught her eye on the corner of the store.. _bingo.. _The Clouds worried lover marched over to the store's glass door and punched it through, causing glass to rain down on the floor.

"Claire! What are you doing?!" Tifa shouted.

"I know the owner.. He'll forgive me.." She said as she made her way inside.

Claire marched through the store and into the back office where the computer that stored the security videos was. She had already began rewinding the tapes when Tifa begrudgingly followed her in just in time to see Cloud being thrown into a van and a red haired woman look directly into the camera before jumping into the van and speeding off into the night.

"April.." She said, recognizing the crimson haired scientist. "I'll be the last thing you ever see.."

Claire pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Fang with a trembling hand.

"Fang, I need your help.. It's Cloud.. He's been taken.." He voice cracking as she spoke.

"I'll get everyone together. See you in a few hours.. Don't leave the town." Fang replied calmly before hanging up the phone.

"Everyone to my house.." Claire mumbled in a daze as she walked from the shop to find everyone had regrouped on Clouds motorcycle.

Two hours passed until Cid recognized the sound of one of his joint creation with Sazh. The newly created Highwind2 hovered over Claire's home. As ropes fell from it's hull, Claire's loyal friends descended and ran through the open front door.

"Okay Light. What's the plan." Fang said, taking no notice of the strangers in her living room.

"We're going to split up and find him.. Nobody touches April but me.." She said coldly.

**A/N: Okay.. this is the last chapter of this story but im gonna repost it as the first chapter of my next story too if you want to just so that people know they are linked. As promised there is a a sex scene (Or at least my take on it) it's safe to say Im not the author of fifty shades of gray. Let me know if it was decent or dire and I'll decide if I should leave them out in future. Now for the fun bit.. Cloud has been taken and they are now going to split up to find him. That decision is up to you. Providing there is a majority vote. Wanna be cruel and put Vanille with Vincent? A bit of female rivalry between Claire and tifa? ****You decide. Just wanna thank you all for sticking with this story and I hope you're all here to read the sequel. Thanks**

**Wolf**


	2. Chapter 2

"Fair enough.. Who's going with who?" Fang asked.

"You and Vanille can go with Vincent." She told the huntress who nodded without hesitation.

"Me and Sazh will take the airship and scout above. No car will out run the Highwind." Cid boasted.

"Thank You Cid.. Snow, you go with Barret and Yuffie." Claire said.

"Got ya!" Snow said with enthusiasm.

"I'm coming with you, Lightning." Tifa spoke silencing the room.

"You have the kids to look after.." Claire replied coldly, not wanting her company.

"I'll look after them for you Tifa." Serah offered, earning her a soul piercing look from her sister.

"Looks like you're stuck with me." Tifa fired back.

There was another awkward silence that seemed to last for an eerily long time until Nanaki offered his services and said what everyone in the room was thinking.

"I will accompany you both. I'm convinced it would end badly otherwise.." Nanaki said, making them both feel uncomfortable.

"Fine.. let's go. If they get him out of the country it's game over.." Claire said, trying not to get upset. "Move!"

Everyone scarpered out of the house in great haste to avoid Claire's wrath. Barret climbed into his pickup truck with Snow and Yuffie before heading off into the night as Claire opened her garage doors to reveal her Bowler 4x4 and Camaro. Fang chose the 4x4 and threw herself between the roll cage and into the drivers seat as Vanille took the passenger seat. Vincent, who was not in the mood for talking, opened the boot and jumped into the back, making himself comfortable as he waited for their departure.

"Lets go." Claire said to Nanaki as she watched Cid and Sazh ascend the ropes that dangled from the airship.

Tifa pulled the seat of the Camaro forward and to let Nanaki gracefully leap into the back and lay across the back seats before folding it back and climbing in herself. She has barely put her seat belt on when Clare roared out of her garage, filling it with tire smoke as her house quickly became a dot in the rear view mirror.

"How do you know you're going the right way?" Tifa asked as she glanced nervously at the speedo. _131Mph.. Is that really necessary?_

"The tracks lead east out of town. That's all we have to go on." Claire answered.

"Hmmm.. Does Cloud carry a cell phone still?" The brunette asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Tifa did not answer Claire but instead pulled out her own phone and flicked through the contacts until she found Reno's number. After a brief explanation of the nights events, Reno attempted to track Cloud's phone, eventually locating it 30 miles east of their position, traveling down the highway. Claire mentally scalded herself for not thinking of the idea first and begrudgingly thanked Tifa for their new lead.

"I'll tell Sazh."

"You don't talk much do you, mister?" Vanille said to the dark and mysterious man in the back of their car.

"When I have something to say.." Vincent replied in his deep but whispered voice.

"How boring!" The bubbly young woman shouted. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

"Vincent Valentine..." The crimson eyed man answered, hoping this would be the end of their conversation.

"I'm Vanille! And this is Fang." Vanille beamed.

"Vanille, leave the poor man alone and keep your eyes out for a van." Fang said, relieving the cloaked man from her rambling. The wild haired huntress examined their quiet passenger in the rear view mirror with great interest, trying to figure out his secrets just by looking at him. Feeling he was being watched, Vincent glanced at the mirror to find Fang's eyes before they instantly turned away.

"Cid! That was Lightning on the phone. They got Reno to ping Cloud's cell phone and it give us a location. He's four clicks east of our location traveling on the main highway." Sazh said, bracing himself for the hot headed pilot to alter the Highwind's course.

"Roger! We'll be on their ass in less than a minute! Keep a lookout!" Cid barked, reveling in the excitement.

Sure enough red tail lights came into view in the distance after a minute on their altered course. As they homed in on the red blur in the distance it instantly became apparent that there was far more than one vehicle on the highway.

"It's a whole damn convoy.." Sazh sighed as he counted the 5 identical vans and two motorcycles that sailed across the road in a tight formation. "Lightning, It's Sazh.. We have a problem.."

"How many!? Right, I'm a few minutes away. Fang is on my tail." Claire said as she watched her speedo climb to 140mph. "Slow them down Sazh... I don't care how, just do it.."

Claire looked to the sky to see the flashing strobe lights of the airship a few miles in the distance. With one hand still on the wheel, she reached over to the glove box and opened it, pulling out a pair of H&K USP pistols and throwing them on the dashboard before returning her hand back for spare magazines.

"You know how to shoot, right?" Claire asked in a condescending tone.

"Barret taught me the basics." Tifa replied, taking a pistol from the dashboard and pulling the slide back and releasing it, putting a round in the chamber.

"Let's hope you can shoot straight.."

Nanaki sighed in the back of the car, becoming increasingly annoyed at the pair's bickering. He had spent a month talking to and watching Claire and began to build up an accurate opinion on the rose haired beauty. Much like the man she loves, Claire is courageous and utterly loyal to all she holds dear but puts up walls to hide her emotions behind and portray herself as the tough and confident warrior who doesn't get phased by anything. _How very similar you both are.._

"This isn't helping.." The fiery furred beast said calmly.

"Sazh! I'm gonna get in front of them. Hold on to ya drawers!" The captain shouted as he plunged the mighty airship over the small convoy and flew in front of them.

Seconds later, two of the vans opened their rear doors as men leaned out and shot at the Highwind with assault rifles, peppering the aircraft in bullet holes.

"We're taking damage!" Sazh shouted, narrowly missing the bullets that burst through the skin of the craft.

"Forget the weapons he said... Install the navigation system first he said.." Cid mumbled angrily, wishing he had the ability to fire back.

"We survive this and you can put as many guns as you like on it- Hey! Where you goin!" The afro haired pilot asked as Cid left the controls and disappeared briefly, returning with a spear.

"The hell you gonna do with that!?" Sazh shouted as he ran to regain control of the ship.

"No one shoots at my baby, besides.. I gotta go rescue the numbskull! Get the outer deck over those vans!" Cid shouted as he disappeared again.

Sazh gripped the controls and took evasive maneuvers to dodge the barrage of bullets being shot at them as he positioned the airship directly over the convoy of vans.

"Okay Light, divide and conquer?" Fang said into the car's hands free phone.

"Cloud will likely be in one of the middle vans. We need to get rid of those two motorcycles fir- What he hell is he doing!?" Claire's voice shouted in surprise through Fang's car speakers, causing her to look up at the Highwind to find Cid stood on the railing of the open rear deck.

"Hmm.. It's time.. Get me closer.." Vincent said in a frighteningly calm voice as he opened the sunroof and climbed out.

"What are you doing?!" Vanille asked as she watched the last of his torn crimson cape disappear from view.

"You guy's are nuts!" Fang shouted through the sunroof. "I like it."

Vincent gave a nod of readiness to Cid who nodded back before leaping from the airship and burying his spear through the engine block of the far left van, disabling it immediately. Vincent ran down the bonnet of the 4x4 and used Claire's Camaro as a stepping stone to mount the far right van, shooting the nearest motorcycle rider as he regained his balance. Fang watched as the caped man jumped from van to van, shooting the driver of each with surgical precision until only two vans and a motorcycle remained.

"Hey! Sharin's carin! Leave some for me!" Cid barked as he swung his spear behind him, knocking the motorcycle rider off of his bike.

The van Cid was stood on swerved violently, throwing the foul mouthed pilot off the roof. Acting on instinct, he jammed his spear into the side of the other van and held on tight as it began to accelerate away. Vincent offered his clawed gauntlet to the dangling pilot who took it gratefully as he pulled him onto the roof of the second van.

Claire watched the back doors of the van that Vincent and Cid were stood on open to reveal two Disciple soldiers armed with assault rifles. Tifa ducked behind the dashboard, blind firing out of the side window as bullets pierced the windshield. She glanced up at Claire who's steely composure never broke once; not blinking even when bullets grazed her arms.

"Get ready to jump.." Vincent said to Cid, as calm as ever.

"Jump where?!" He asked in panic.

Vincent walked to the front of the van's roof and aimed at the driver through the windshield, looking at his terrified expression as he squeezed the trigger, releasing the bullet that would end the man's life from the barrel. The former turk turned on his heels and ran towards the back of the van as it began to loose control and jumped at Fang's 4x4 that was fast approaching with Cid right behind him. As the duo landed on the bonnet, Vincent paused for a moment as he lifted his head to find Fang's warm green eyes staring back at him before he climbed through the sunroof to find Cid had already made himself comfortable.

"That was amazing! You guys are nuts!" Vanille shouted, causing Cid to wince. "There's only one van left. Cloud must be in that one, right?"

"One would think.." Vincent said.

"Okay light, I see Snow and the others have finally caught up." The huntress said as she glanced in her rear view mirror. "If Cloud is in that van we can't shoot at it. Box formation and bring them to a stop?"

"You take the right, I'll get in front and Barret will figure out what we're doing and go left." Claire's voice said through the speakers.

Claire put her foot to the floor and overtook the van before cutting back in front of it. Barret and Fang boxed the van in on either side as they all began to slow down together to try and bring the van to a halt. The driver of the van reached over to the passenger seat to pick up the handgun that lay there and began firing wildly through his window and Claire's Camaro, shattering the rear glass. She watched as the Disciple through the empty pistol away and slammed on, stopping the van in its tracks.

"Hands up!" Tifa shouted as she leaped out of the car and trained her pistol on the man as she waited for Barret to drag the man from the drivers seat and pin him down.

Everyone else ran round the back of the van and waited behind Claire and Vincent who both gripped a handle of the double doors each. The rose haired beauty watched Vincent's fingers count down silently to zero before they both pulled their doors open, finding a lone Disciple soldier who opened fire on them, shooting Claire in the shoulder before eventually falling victim to the former turk's deadly aim.

"I don't understand..." Claire said as her mind tried to process the fact that Cloud was not in the van.

"You're bleeding, Light.." Vanille said as she noticed blood pour from her shoulder.

Claire ignored her concerned words as she stared into the van, convinced she had saved the man that she loves more than life itself. After a brief moment anger took over and she marched over to the van driver who lay on the ground with Barret's heavy boot pressed firmly on his back. Claire rolled the man over as she pushed her pistol down the back of her jeans, nearly knocking Barret over in the process and punched him in the face, bursting the man's lip.

"Where's Cloud!?" She shouted.

The Disciple remained silent and smiled smugly, earning himself another punch from Claire.

"Where's Cloud!?" She repeated.

Again the man stayed silent and again received Claire's anger fueled fist.

"It's... too late.." The man coughed. "Their probably dissecting.. his body.. for their research as... we speak.. Hallowed are the Disciples, followers of the divine." He said as he spat in Claire's face, braking any remaining composure the former savior had and she punched him repeatedly in an uncontrollable rage until she was dragged off by Fang.

"Hey! Get a grip of yourself." Fang warned making Claire stop struggling against her.

The rose haired warrior searched the van, tearing it apart to find any clue as to where Cloud could be. Soon enough, Claire found the blonde's cell phone tucked underneath the passenger seat. She couldn't stop her hand shaking as she looked down at the phone. Holding back the tears as her distraught anger took hold she pocketed the phone and pulled the pistol from the back of her skinny jeans.

"Where's Cloud?" She said in a whisper to the badly beaten Disciple.

_One... two... three..._

**BANG!**

The man screamed in pain and clutched his knee tightly as he looked at Claire who stood over him like Death, ready to take his life. Tifa has seen enough end snatched the pistol from her hand, directing Claire's anger at herself. Claire lunged at the brunette but Tifa blocked her strike.

"Enough!" Nanaki roared, turning everyone's attention to him. "How are we going to fight the people who took Cloud if you're fighting each other?"

"We don't even know if he's still alive.." Claire said, dropping to the floor as she spoke.

"Of course he is.. They drugged him to transport him. If they wanted to kill him they'd have left him in the street. It would have made more of a statement." Nanaki explained. "Whatever the reason for them taking him.. They need him alive.."

"Sorry.." Claire murmured to Tifa who turned away.

"Right.. So where do we start looking?" Snow asked.

"In the Disciple's capitol city.. Asgard.." Fang said.

"You can't be serious?! We'd never make it into the country, never mind the city!" Snow shouted.

"I'm not asking for your permission.. Or company.. I'll go on my own.." Claire said coldly as she began to walk to the Highwind.

"Like hell anyone but me is flying my baby! Lets go get the numbskull!" Cid shouted, following her.

Everyone else followed behind, all without any hesitation to embark on a mission to rescue Cloud.

Inside the airship Fang instructed Cid to fly to their military base to resupply and rearm for their mission before phoning Hope to fill him in on the situation. Barret stood, looking at the horizon through the windows of the Highwind feeling the nostalgia wash over him.

"Aren't we missing someone?" Sazh asked, looking around at the group.

"I think Lightning's in the crew quarters feeling sorry for herself. No idea where Yuffie is." Snow said.

"Probably throwin' up.." Barret laughed.

Claire sat on a bed in the crew quarters with her head in her hands. In the space of a few hours she had gone from being at the happiest point in her life to distraught over Cloud's capture. She though about her actions moments ago and was disgusted with herself for torturing the disciple but knew she'd do it over again. _Whatever it takes to bring you back to me.._

Dizziness began to set in, reminding the rose haired beauty of her shoulder that was still pouring with blood. She pulled out the survival knife her little sister bought her and flicked it open. Taking a deep breath, Claire pushed the tip of the blade into the bullet hole and dug out the bullet, bringing tears to her eyes as she flicked the mangled copper jacketed projectile out of her. _I wish I still had my powers..._

"That's gonna get infected." Fang spoke from the open door, startling Claire.

"I'll be fine.."

"You won't be if you end up with your arm being amputated.. Let me.." The huntress said, pulling out a first aid kit.

Fang took a seat next to Claire and opened the first aid kit, pulling out a curved needle and thread. She sterilized the needle and cleaned the pink haired woman's wound before beginning to sew the wound closed. Just as she expected, Claire never flinched once, keeping up appearances as the tough girl. After being smothering her patient in antiseptic and bandaging her up, the brunette packed up the first aid kit and put it away.

"Thanks.."

"Your boyfriend is a tough one.. We'll get him back." The bronze skinned beauty said before leaving her to her thoughts.

Claire watched the brunette disappear through the door and mulled over her words.._Boyfriend__.. _Although they were living with each other, at no point had they discussed their relationship in detail. Blushing at the word, she promised herself that when she found Cloud that they would talk about it. Composing herself, Claire marched out of the room and made her way to the bridge of the Highwind where the rest of the group waited.

"So, how we gettin' into the center of all evil without getting our ass's kicked?" Cid asked, noticing Claire make an appearance.

"Cid, whats the maximum altitude of the airship?" Claire asked.

"The Highwind can hit 75,000 feet but we'd all die of oxygen deprivation at that height." The pilot answered.

"Perfect." Claire smiled.

"I don't think you understand missy.. There is no oxygen that high, we'd all die." Cid said in a condescending tone.

"You leave breathing to me.." Claire said. "We're gonna use HALO suites."

"HALO?" Vincent asked, peaking his curiosity.

"High altitude, low opening. It's a prototype parachute system with breathing apparatus and a small oxygen tank. It was your wife, Shera who helped develop the concept." Fang interrupted, using his question as an excuse to survey him once again.

Back at the military base Cid and fang organized the refuel and resupply of the Highwind before gathering the group in the briefing room. Claire dismissed everyone but the group from the room and clocked the door. She turned to face the small team of people that would risk certain death to save the man that she loves so dearly and addressed them.

"This is your last chance to back out.. I won't think any less of you.." She started before pointing to a screen on the wall. "This is continent is under Disciple control.. We want to get in here." Claire explained pointing to the small dot on the continent, enlarging it to show a city map. "This is Asgard. The Disciple capitol city.. We're going to split into three groups and land here, here and here... The central building will most likely be where they are taking Cloud. Hope tells me that the building is impenetrable.. Lets hope that he's wrong.."

"Sound's like fun." Fang grinned.

"Any questions?" Claire asked.

She scanned the faces in the room who all had a look of determination. Her eyes met Tifa, who's piercing gaze mirrored her own feelings about their mission. Regardless of the risk, they were going to get Cloud back or die trying.

"Okay lets go."

**A/N: Sorry for the short chapter and the long delay. Been away from home most of the week so this was written an a couple of hours this morning. I'll pull my finger out for the next chapter which will be action packed I promise. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

Claire led the group back to the Highwind, each carrying a black jump suit with a small tank attached to the chest. Resupplied and refueled, everyone but the small group exited the aircraft and joined the entire army that lined the edge of the runway to show support to Claire and her friends; old and new.

"Okay, we're outta here!" Cid barked as he powered up the engines and began the Highwind's accent into the clouds.

"Are we there yet?" Vanille asked, grinning.

"It's been thirty seconds.. It's gonna take nine hours. I suggest you get comfy.." Cid replied.

Vincent sighed and shook his head; not looking forward to the next nine hours with Fang's annoying friend, he left the group and headed to observation deck for some peace and quiet. Claire, who seemed to have the same idea, made herself comfortable in the crew quarters and closed her eyes. She thought of Cloud as she lay on the cramped bed. Images of happier times flooded her mind as she promised herself that they would be reunited again. Taking the buster sword from the corner of the room, Claire sat back down with the mighty blade across her knee's, rubbing her fingers across its surface.

Several hours passed until Sazh's voice echoed over the speakers, signaling them all to regroup on the bridge.

"Alright! Listen up! We're gonna begin to climb to 75,000 feet to avoid enemy radar and anti aircraft systems. We all need to suit up and get our oxygen masks on. Everyone get your kit on. Fang and Claire will check your parachutes and breathing apparatus." Sazh instructed.

Everyone put on the black jump suit's apart from Nanaki; who with the help of Claire just wore the mask and Small tank. They lined up together and starting from each end, Claire and Fang checked the gauges on the small oxygen tanks and turned them on. Stopping at Tifa, the rose haired beauty gripped the small tank that sat below her large breasts that wanted to burst from the tight one piece suit. Claire glanced at her crimson eyes before back at the gauge. For a split second she considered not turning on the tank but in the end she twisted the knob and watched the pressure build to the optimum level. Noticing her hesitation, Fang rechecked Tifa's equipment, half expecting it to be wrong.

"Go easy on the oxygen. Slow and steady breaths. We have a long climb before we can travel inland and then we need to jump." Claire said. "That means no dancing around in the suit Vanille." She added.

"This is gonna be fun!" Yuffie shouted, ready to be on land again.

"Err.. Guys.. We have a problem.." Snow interrupted.

"What?" Claire asked bluntly.

"Radar is showing two objects coming our way. They'll be on us in 2 minutes." He said with a worried look.

"Shit! Right everyone to the rear deck. Cid, how long till we're above the tower?" Claire asked.

"I can get us there but we will need to jump straight away together." The pilot answered.

"What about the Highwind?" She asked in genuine concern, knowing it was his pride and joy.

"Well after we rescue the numbskull, you're gonna tell Hope he's buying me a new one.. One with guns this time. Aren't ya missy?" Cid said.

"If we get Cloud back, I'll buy you two.." Claire smiled. "Alright everyone! To the outer deck now. Cid, set the autopilot!"

The group ran to the open deck; all with their signature weapons in hand, ready to take the plunge. Even with the full body suits, at that height the wind chill was nearly unbearable and they began to shiver uncontrollably as they ran to the hand rail that lined the deck.

"Enemy Jets! It's now or never!" Barret shouted as he leaped over the side, closely followed by everyone else.

From 75,000 feet the group got a new perspective on the world they lived in. Claire could only hope that Cid's calculations were right. At this height even the slightest mistake could have them land hundreds of miles off course. Much to her relief, the city came into view as they bust through the clouds.

"That's the main building! Aim for the roof!" Claire shouted. "Open chutes!"

Everyone deployed their parachutes, jerking them violently as they decelerated. Vanille shot past the group like a missile, still with her parachute in it's backpack as she yanked in desperation on the cord to no avail.

"Vanille!" The huntress shouted in fear as she watched her best friend plummet to the earth.

Thinking fast, Vincent swiped at his parachute cables with his golden gauntlet, severing them with a single blow. Keeping his arms by his side he accelerated past the group towards Vanille who was still trying relentlessly to deploy her chute. Fang watched his torn red cape and long dark hair ripple in the wind as he finally reached her and tore open the backpack, sending the bubbly red head into a harsh deceleration. She breathed a sigh of relief as Vanille's parachute came into view but her concerns then turned to the mysterious man who was now just a tiny speck in the distance. The huntress felt a lump in her throat as the dot that was Vincent Valentine seemingly struck the roof of the central tower.

Claire landed first and searched around for the surely mangled remains of Vincent, only to find him sat casually on a large heating duct, waiting for their arrival. She did not question his miraculous feat but Fang, who landed behind her did.

"How did you- Thanks.." She said in shock.

"humph.." Vincent muttered as he located the lift service shaft. "This way."

Everyone brushed passed Fang, who was still staring at Vincent, running every possible scenario through her head as to how he could have survived a 75,000 foot fall. Realizing she was falling behind, the bronze skinned beauty ran after the group who were gathered around the service shaft.

"We can enter through here.. We have no intel on this building so we're gonna have to go in blind. Until we can find where Cloud is being held let's keep the noise to a minimum. If they discover us in this building it will be game over." Claire explained. "Let's go."

"Er.. I ain't gonna fit down that tiny shaft.." Barret said sheepishly.

"Right.. Snow, Sazh, Yuffie and Nanaki go with Barret and find another way in." Claire ordered before grabbing Snow by the collar. "Quietly.."

Everyone turned to Cid, who had walked off from the group to watch his pride and joy explode in the sky after being struck with missiles. Even Claire wasn't going to rush the man who was gripping his spear so tightly his knuckles were white. After thirty seconds, the foul mouthed pilot took a deep breath and returned to the rest of the team.

Vincent pulled the cover off the shaft and lowered himself in first. The metallic shaft amplified the sound of his slow and calm breaths as he began to climb further and further down until he hit the floor. Drawing his weapon, the former turk scanned the narrow tunnel in front of him before signaling to the others it was safe to proceed.

"The main elevator shaft should be at the end of this tunnel. We need to find out where the Lab's are." Claire said with a focused expression.

"Let's just hope it's in this building.." Vanille said.

While the thought had occurred to the rose haired warrior, she hoped that her instincts where right and that her beloved was somewhere in the skyscraper. Claire took point and headed down the shaft, wishing the powers Sephiroth gave her hadn't faded with his departure to Valhalla. _I hope I'm strong enough to do this.._

Just as she hoped, the elevator shaft came into view after a short crawl. The heat inside the steel and concrete tunnel was becoming unbearable so the group picked up the pace until they were at the end were they looked down the shaft that had thick, braided steel cables that ran from the top to the bottom where the lift was currently located.

"We wait till the lift gets closer. Then we jump.."

What felt like a lifetime passed before the lift jerked into life, sending the metal box rising in its shaft. The lift stopped three floors below the tunnel the group waited in but Claire knew it was now or never. She leaped into the shaft, grabbing the thick steel cable and sliding down until her boots touched down gracefully on the metal roof of the lift. Claire signaled to the others to follow, giving Vanille a death glare as she hesitated.

"Ssshhh.." Claire whispered, pointing at the small mesh vent in the center of the lift's roof as two men entered the lift.

"_You hear that explosion a few minutes ago, the news are saying it was a gas leak but I don't buy it."_

"_It does sound strange.. I wonder if it has anything to do with that guy with the red coat.. The one in a meeting with the boss right now." _

"_I know.. I can't believe they let him take a sword in there too.."_

"_I wouldn't want to be the one to tell him he couldn't have his sword."_

"_True.. But with that crazy professor bitch actually capturing the blonde guy, the boss won't need his help.. I'm glad I'm working in the tower and not the complex below it.. I hear people go missing down there...Anyway.. I'm floor 32. What number do you want?"_

"_47."_

Claire watched the man press the lift buttons through the small vent only to be met by a loud buzzer.

"_Weight limit exceeded? There's only two of us!" _

"_You need to lay off those vending machines."_

"_Cheeky bastard.. Those maintenance guys need firing.. Looks like it's the stairs for us.." _

The two men exited the lift, disappearing out of view, allowing the group to let out a sigh of relief. Claire knelt by the vent and peered at the control panel on the wall. _No below ground level buttons... I suppose that would be to easy..._

Vanille, I'm going to open this hatch. You need to jump down, press the ground floor button and we'll pull you back up." Claire said.

"Why do I have to do it?!" She whispered angrily.

"Because you're the smallest and lightest. It's easier for you to fit and easier for us to pull you back up." Claire explained, beginning to loose her patience.

"Fine.." The red head sulked.

Fang pulled the lift access hatch open and Vanille climbed down with the grace of a sledge hammer, shaking the lift they were all stood on. Sheepishly, she composed herself and pressed the ground floor button on the lift. As soon as her finger left the 'G' button the lift doors opened, revealing her to two men who entered the lift.

"Hey, never seen you around here before." The tall blonde man said with a smile.

"I'm new.." She responded on instinct.

"You look familiar... have we met before?" The older of the two spoke as he looked her up and down.

"I don't think so.." Vanille mumbled as she looked at her feet.

The tall blonde man pressed the button on the lift and pulled out his cell phone and checked the time. They chatted casually between themselves about their busy work load and what bar they planned to visit after they had finished until the older man's face turned white and he stopped his conversation mid sentence.

"You're Vanille! The heathen who betrayed the order and refused to purge the world from the corrupt souls! You betrayed the almighty Bhunivelze!" The man exclaimed.

A blood red cape cloaked the lift in darkness just as the two men turned on Vanille; who closed her eyes and flinched. The younger of the two turned in fear only to be met with the crimson eyes of Vincent Valentine burning into his own. The blonde stood, frozen on the spot as the former turk gripped his head with his left hand and smashed it into the metallic wall of the lift, leaving him to fall to the floor, motionless. Within a second the remaining man had been rendered unconscious leaving Vanille stood in the middle of the lift, still with her eyes closed. Vincent gripped the young red head by the waist and launched her into the air and through the vent in the lift roof. Cid and Fang caught her and pulled her out of the way as the mysterious caped man leaped back onto the roof of the lift with the rest of the group.

"What happened?" Vanille asked as she peeped through her still squinted eye lids to see if it was safe.

"Vincent came to your rescue... Again." Tifa said bluntly, earning her a glare from Claire.

"Looks like you have a guardian angel Vanille." Fang smiled.

_Angel... How wrong you are.. _Vincent thought to himself catching another glimpse the bronze skinned woman's emerald green eyes.

"This is becoming a problem staying out of sight.. I hope the others are having more luck." Claire said as the lift finally began to descend to the ground floor.

"Looks like this floor of the building is still under construction.." Yuffie said as she examined the empty rooms that had bare wires dangling from the walls and roof where electrical outlets and lights should be.

"Do not assume for a second that it is empty Yuffie.." Nanaki said wisely.

"Hey, over here." Barret whispered.

The small group gathered on Barret who had found a large floor plan of the building that was stuck to the wall next to a set of lift doors with 'OUT OF ORDER' tape plastered across it. They all scanned it thoroughly in the hope that something would jump out at them as a location that Cloud might be held at but nothing did.

"There's no labs.." Sazh sighed.

"Or even cells." Snow added.

"Claire is pretty adamant that he's in here.." Barret said.

"Claire's judgement has been clouded by grief and fueled by anger... While she is a wise woman she IS human.. They make mistakes.." Nanaki spoke.

Not sure what other option they had left, Snow pulled out his cell phone and rang his soon to be sister in law; hoping that her phone was on silent and didn't give her position away.

"Claire, it's Snow.. Are you okay?... Elevator shaft?!... Listen, I'm looking at a map right now. There are no labs or even cells in the building... Under it? Its not on the map...Yes, a secret lab probably wouldn't be on a map... Okay we'll try and get down.." Snow hung up the phone feeling six inches tall after just a few minutes on the phone with Claire who was baffled that he thought a secret human research lab would be listed on a map.

"Okay... You want the good news of the bad news?" Snow asked.

"Good!" Yuffie shouted.

"I think we know where Cloud is being held." Snow said, ready to reveal the bad news.

"But?.." Nanaki asked.

"It's below the building in an underground complex.."

"Typical... Just typical.." Barret moaned. "ShinRa building I start from the bottom and fight my way to the very top.. Now that I'm at the top I need to fight my way to the god damn bottom!"

"Maybe not.." Sazh said who was now across the room looking out of the windows. "There's one of those window cleaning platforms here.. Maybe we could use it to lower us right to the bottom.."

"Sounds like a plan!" Snow grinned. "But the windows don't open.."

"Allow me." Yuffie said as she pushed Snow out of the way and scored the glass with her giant shuriken. "Viola!" She bowed as she pushed a perfectly cut circle of glass out of the window and onto the window cleaning platform.

Everyone climbed out of the window, instantly realizing just how high up they where and how cold it was. Without any real plan about what they were going to do once they hit the bottom, Sazh hit the lever on the small control box and sent the small platform down the side of the building smoothly. After three tense minutes they had finally returned back to earth and were left with the dilemma of finding the nearest sewer entrance with a less than friendly looking Nanaki.

"We're not gonna get across the street without being caught. Look." Barret said, pointing at the men that stood on every corner, armed with a sub machine gun. "We need a distraction.."

Barret's request was answered by the noise of a huge explosion that burst from the building they had just descended. Glass rained down on them as civilians ran away from the skyscraper in mass panic were as the men posted on the streets ran towards the building and into the main entrance.

"What he hell was that!" Barret shouted, taking cover from the mass of razor sharp shards.

"Dunno, but it's now or never." Snow said, jumping out of the grounded platform and running down the street with everyone else on his tail. "Over there! Manhole cover!"

Everyone ran towards the manhole cover that was fifty yards away, in the middle of the road. Yuffie stuck one of the tips of her shuriken under the corner of the sewers iron cover and despite her seemingly weak 5'2" body, opened the heavy lid and pulled it to one side. The young ninja grinned victoriously but her expression changed as she noticed an armed man in the distance draw his gun.

"Nanaki! Look out!" Yuffie shouted as she leaped in front of the fiery pelted beast as the gun went off.

The bullet found its way into the Wutaian warrior's thigh, burning as it exited out of the back. Sazh drew his pistol, and with a single shot hit the man in the chest, dropping him instantly. Barret ran towards the downed man, much to the confusion of the rest of the group. The dark skinned, man mountain rolled the armed officer over and ripped the radio from his tactical vest before returning to the others.

"Down into the sewers, Now!" Sazh shouted as he helped Yuffie down the man hole.

Barret, who was the last to enter managed to squeeze himself down the narrow hole and pulled the manhole cover back over. Snow rushed to Yuffie's aid but was pushed away as she pulled the bandanna from her forehead and wrapped it around her leg to stop the bleeding. Nanaki looked at her with a grateful yet guilty look and received a warm smile in return. No one could ever figure out why but Nanaki and Yuffie seemed to get along quite well considering their contrasting personalities.

"You one tough cookie." Snow said in admiration.

"When you travel with Cloud Strife you get used to it." She chuckled. "He always used to say 'Pain is just weakness leaving the body'... Anyway.. Where to?" Yuffie finished as she looked around at the maze of tunnels around her.

"What was that?!" Vanille screamed as the building shook violently around them.

"Quiet!" Claire glared. "Sounded like an explosion above us. We need to keep moving."

Tifa opened the mesh hatch on the roof of the lift and the group climbed down inside of it. She pressed the button to open the lift doors but they were no longer operational. Instantly realizing that the lifts would be disabled in the event of a fire, her and Fang buried their fingertips into the crack of the door and pulled it open. They were met with the sight of mass panic as the buildings employee's flooded the ground floor in an attempt to fell the building. After waiting for the crowd to thin, Claire was the first to exit the concealment of the lift but froze at the sound of footsteps casually walking on the marble floor.

Her eyes fell upon a tall man with auburn hair that was sporting a flamboyant red leather coat over a black shirt and pants. In his hand was a large and ornate rapier, whats blade was crimson. Walking straight past Claire he stopped at the main entrance of the building and turned to face her.

"The statue over there is worth a look.." The man said in a smooth and charming voice, taking his eyes of claire briefly to glance as a gold covered, marble statue on the other side of the vast floor. "When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the goddess descends from the sky... Wings of light and dark spread afar, she guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting..." He said softly before turning his back on her and walking out of the building.

"Who the hell was that?" Fang asked.

"I don't know.. but his eyes.. They where like Cloud's..." Claire mumbled.

"Hmmm.." Vincent sounded, trying to make sense of the events and catching Claire's attention.

"What he said.. Reminds me of a play I went to see once.. I remember telling Cloud about it before we took on Sephiroth.." Cid said, diverting her focus onto him.

"YOU, went to a play?" Claire scoffed.

"I fell asleep at the beginning. Woke up at the last scene. Wasn't my cup of tea." Cid laughed.

"How did it end?" Vanille asked out of curiosity.

"The man who had to leave his lover told her '_Of course... I'll come back to you. Even if you don't promise to wait. I'll return knowing you'll be here.__'" _The pilot replied.

Claire, who had pretended not to listen mulled over the words that seemed to hit home with her. _Please find your way back to me..._

**A/N: Apologies for another short one. Wanted to keep the updates fairly frequent as ive had some reviews. Story is going to pick up the pace in the next chapter. Anyway thanks for the reviews and the advice on the pairing labels. Upto now everyone seems to like the idea of Fang and Vincent. It was suggested to me by Autumn810 who has a cool new story that's just starting (Definitely worth a read). Their will be more Nanaki (Who is one of my favorite characters too. I always played Cloud, Tifa, Nanaki.) in the following chapters too. Let me know what you think, ****make suggestions an****d leave a review. ****It always spurs me on to type quicker.**


	4. Chapter 4

"So what now?" Cid asked.

"The statue..." Claire mumbled as she made her way over to white marble statue with gold detailing. "It's Bhunivelze..."

"Look. A keypad." Vanille pointed at the hand of the statue. "I wonder what the password is..."

"Outta the damn way!" Cid barked, brushing everyone out of the side and examining the keypad. "I need a knife."

Claire pulled out the survival knife that her younger sister bought her and handed it over to the short tempered pilot who flicked it open and used it to prize the front cover off of the keypad. She watched in anticipation as Cid fiddled with the mass of wires inside the key pad until they sparked, sliding the statue away from them, revealing a staircase beneath it.

"Looks promising." Fang said as she peered down the stairs.

Claire marched down the staircase until she reached the bottom that led to a narrow corridor. Lights burst into live above the group as they proceeded down the path until a steel reenforced door came into view with the letters 'DGP' written across it in large red font. Yet again a keypad stood in the way of their progression, but Cid; who eyed it immediately got to work in dismantling the panel and began to fiddle with the wires and to open the door.

"Piece of Shit!" The foul mouthed pilot muttered to himself after several minutes of mauling with the panel.

"Whats wrong?" Claire asked, beginning to get impatient.

"It's got built in fail-safe's.. All of the wiring harness that is sunk into the wall is earthed. I can't divert the power to where I want it to go." Cid said in defeat.

"Move out of the way.." Claire said quietly as she heaved the Buster sword from her back. _It's getting heavier by the day..._

The rose haired woman told everyone to stand behind her to keep out of the way of the blade's razor sharp edge but also so they couldn't see the strain on her face as she hoisted it up into the air. Using all of her might she brought the foot wide blade crashing into the door, gouging it badly but it stood firm. _My magic is gone... I couldn't keep Odin from fading... Don't take my strength away from me too.. _There was an awkward moment of silence where nobody could bring themselves to say anything and Claire wasn't willing to turn around and face them. A look of pity was the last thing she wanted.

"Let me try." Tifa said as she moved to the front of the door.

Everyone watched the beautiful brunette as she took of her right glove and placed her hand on the doorway. An icy frost began to flow from her fingertips and onto the metallic surface of the door until it was frozen solid under a thick layer of clear ice. The extreme cold caused goosebumps to form on her arm as she coiled it back before unleashing a devastating blow at the door, shattering it like glass.

"Easy.." She said with a smug tone as she walked past Claire, who's ego was now as broken as the door.

"What the..." Fang gasped, being the first to turn from Tifa and actually look what was behind the door. Blood covered almost all of the white walls and floor of the short corridor that lay in front of them. The smell of dried blood was overwhelming but the sight was far worse.

"Looks like someone exploded in here. That's one mess.." Cid said.

"It was an animal..." Vincent's calm voice sent a shiver up Fang's spine as he brushed past her. "Look.." He said, taking his Clawed gauntlet and matching it up with the Claw marks that lined the walls.

"There's no remains.. No bones or anything.." Vanille pointed out, knowing animals rarely ate the entire bodies.

Vincent dropped to his knee and picked up a handful of turquoise coloured crystal shards and held them up to the light."Crystallized mako... Hmmm." He mumbled as he drew his gun and paced down the passageway slowly.

_(The Sewers)_

"Anyway... Where to?" Yuffie asked.

"If it's directly under the bad guy headquarters we need to go that way." Snow pointed. "Hey, whats with the walkie talkie?"

"Listen." Barret said as he turned the radio volume up.

"_The Primarch is secure! 17 confirmed dead! 34 wounded in the blast."_

"_All personnel! The man with the red Coat and sword has been confirmed as hostile. Use of deadly force is authorized! I repeat! The use of deadly force is authorized!"_

"Looks like somebody else don't like the Disciples." Sazh said as he heard the radio. "Wonder who it is.."

"I don't know but all of the spotlight seems to be on him and not us. Let's go." Barret ordered as they all made their way through the maze of sewers In the hope that it would lead them into the underground lab.

Less than a minute passed until the terrifying howl of something unnatural echoed down the sewers, stopping them in their tracks. Everyone froze but Nanaki, who picked up on the scent of something familiar. Without saying a word he dashed off, causing the rest to take chase until he stopped at one of the many winding passageways.

"I smell the lifestream down here.." Nanaki said after waiting for them all to catch up. "Or rather mako.."

"Great, we're going the right way... But what the hell was that noise?!" Yuffie asked.

"I smell that too.. It smell's familiar, but different at the same time.. We need to keep moving."

No sooner had the words left Nanaki's lips had the sound of splashing caught the group's attention. Watery footsteps grew louder and louder until a faint cyan glow lit up a passageway in the distance. Nanaki's ochre eye was fixated on the pale light in the distance until something unexpected reared its head around the corner.

"It can't be! Deneh?!" Nanaki barked as a creature shaped much like himself appeared.

Yuffie was lost for words at the sight before her. The creature was built like Nanaki but was hairless and had deformed features. It bare skinned body was covered in boils and open woulds that seeped cyan liquid resembling mako. Blind rage was the expression cemented onto the beast's face and its glowing body and Soldier like eyes sent a wave of fear over the former Avalanche members especially.

"You know that thing?!" Sazh asked.

"Run! Take this passage. The mako smell is strongest down there. If there is an entrance to the lab its that way." Nanaki said selflessly.

"We're not leaving you!" Yuffie pleaded.

"Go.. This is something I have to do.."

_(back in the building)_

Vincent followed the crimson trail until it came to a violent end. The corridor had now ended and opened up into a large room that was once a lab. Computer monitors were smashed and dragged across the floor and the liquid contents of hundreds of experiments dripped onto the broken glass covered floor. In the corner of the room was two large glass tanks; one of which was smashed and a thick steel cage that was mangled violently.

"Empty..." Claire whispered to herself as her heart sank. "I was so sure..."

"Find something... Anything..." Fang whispered to the others, realizing Claire was moments from breaking down.

Cid examined the mass of broken computers and began taking parts from each until he had built one that would work. The cracked screen distorted the display but the pilot was still able to access the last documents that were entered. "Over here missy. Look.." Cid said to Claire as he opened up the files.

_Entry log 1:_

_Unknown creature captured in eastern forest. Initial examination shows incredible longevity and intelligence. The beast is even capable of human speech! So far it has been unwilling to share anything but its name (Deneh) and its origins of Cosmo canyon which is an unknown location._

_Entry log 2: _

_Creature has become more and more aggressive as the days go on and is now under heavy sedation until a breeding male can be found. Cosmo Canyon has still not been found._

_Entry log 3:_

_The Primarch grows tired of the delays in the 'Demi God Project' and has ordered me to begin testing on the subject but it is far to rare to risk killing it. DNA has been taken and a clone is growing as I write this._

_Entry log 4:_

_Clone has been exposed to the mako liquid with mixed results. It's strength has increased dramatically but it's mind has been affected by the substance and is becoming uncontrollable. The former 'Shinra' Scientists have proved to be invaluable in supplying us with more accurate dosages and delivery methods._

_Entry log 5:_

_The Primarch has found a man claiming to be a former member of this mythical 'Soldier' group. He refuses to cooperate despite sizable incentive so head scientist, professor April Ishii has been sent to retrieve the man seen with the demon 'Lightning' as she believes him to be the perfect base to start human experiments._

_Entry log 6:_

_Beast is becoming far to powerful and wild to control. April's captured subject has been diverted to rendezvous at the mountain complex for their own safety. _

"No! No! No!" Claire shouted, pounding her hands onto the glass covered table, cutting them badly.

"Don't give up!" Vanille shouted. "We just need to find the mountain complex thingy."

"We have company..." Vincent interrupted, drawing his gun and aiming it for the door across the room from them.

"Don't shoot!" Yuffie shouted as she popped her head around the door to find the barrel of Vincent's gun pointing at her. "We need your help! It's Nanaki!"

"What's wrong?" Vanille asked.

"He's fighting some creature! It looks just like him!" Yuffie shouted before she darted back behind the door and ran down the passageway that led to Nanaki.

"I guess that's what broke out of this cage and made all of this mess.." Fang realized. "Let's go!"

Everyone ran out of the door and chased after Yuffie, eventually catching her and finding the others not to far in front. The sounds of clashing beasts shook the stone walls of the sewers and grew louder as they navigated their way back the their four legged friend. The group rounded the final corner, now as one large unit to find Nanaki on the defensive against his savage counterpart.

"I don't want to kill you Deneh!" The flame tailed protector shouted as the mako covered monster swiped at him.

Nanaki tried his best to talk the creature down, believing it to be his oldest friend, Deneh and the only other remaining member of his species but the beast's mind was fixated on killing. It lunged at him, sinking it's teeth into his red fur, causing him to let out an almighty howl. Fang readied her spear but Vincent stretched out his arm, stopping the group from advancing.

"He want's to fight alone..." Vincent spoke as he watched the battle casually.

"He's gonna die!" Fang shouted.

"He is a long way from being beaten.. watch..." His gravelly voice replied.

Claire ignored Vincent's command and ran at her target with her fists clenched tightly. The fear of no longer being worthy of wielding Cloud's sword had grown with every day that her powers faded from her. She tackled the mako oozing monster but it's unbeleivable strength threw her into the wall like a rag doll, cutting her head.

Nanaki fought himself off his foe and howled wildly causing his fiery pelt to stand on end and the flame at the tip of his tail to brighten. Sparkling blue fragments shimmered as they rained down onto the enemy, exploding as they made contact with its mako infested skin. Not waiting for it to recover, Nanaki charged at the mako infused monster and sunk his razor sharp canines into it's neck, drowning it in it's own blood. Snow cheered at their four legged friend's victory but was silenced when Nanaki released his grip from his foe's neck and turned to faced them with a distraught look on his battle scarred face.

"I searched high and low to find her... Now she's gone..." He said in a sombre tone.

"You knew it?" Cid asked.

"Her name was Deneh... I grew up with her in Cosmo canyon.. One day the Turks came to capture one Deneh for experiments.. I was caught when I was fighting them off. That's how I ended up inside the ShinRa headquarters when you found me.." He said, looking at Tifa.

"Well I've got some good news for you Nanaki... That wasn't Deneh.." Tifa smiled.

"What?!"

"It was a clone. And I think I know where the real Deneh is.." Tifa said as she explained to Nanaki the files that where on the computer.

"Right. We need to get out of here and get back home. We can plan our next move there." Fang ordered.

"Go without me.. I'm not leaving this hell hole of a country until I've found him.." Claire said defiantly as she wiped the blood from her forehead.

"Why are you so stubborn!?" Tifa shouted. "You're no good to him dead!"

"If I waste time then HE will be dead!" She fired back as she stormed off down the sewer, only making it twenty meters before the blood loss from her head caused her to lean on the damp stone wall as she walked before finally collapsing due to the injuries and the weight of the sword on her back.

Yuffie ran to her aid, lifting her face out of the shallow stream of putrid water that ran across the floor. With the help of Snow, they carried her back to the destroyed laboratory were Sazh spend half an hour tearing out all of the hard drives from the damaged computers whilst Cid salvaged as many of the chemicals as he could and began to concoct something sinister.

"Teach you for destroyin' me baby.." Cid muttered to himself as he sniffed various powders and liquids before mixing them together.

"Ciiiiiidddd... Whatya doin?" Vanille asked.

"Teaching the Disciples that NOBODY destroys my airship." He shouted angrily.

"We need to go. Claire need's medical help. Old man, you done?" Snow asked

"That's the last of em!" The green coated pilot said as he pocketed the last hard drive.

"Let's get outta here." Barret said as he and Vincent led the way back through the sewers until they made it to an outlet that poured into a river.

Tifa pulled out her phone and dialed Reno as the signal on her cell finally connected in the hope that he could find a way out of the country for them.

"The whole time?! Okay, great. See you in a minute." Tifa said as she put the phone down. "Turns out that they're not always idiots."

"Whats goin on?" Yuffie asked.

"Reno and rude have been in the country waiting for us. They have a boat ready to extract us. Reno says ten minutes max." The brunette barmaid smiled.

"Well waddya know..." Barret laughed.

As promised, less than ten minutes later a large fishing boat pulled up outside the large sewer opening with the red headed turk behind the wheel. He held the boat tight to the sewer whilst Yuffie and Fang carefully got Claire on board before the rest of the now large group joined them. As soon as everyone was ready, Reno set off down the river towards the sea at full speed, not wanting to linger in the country any longer than he had to.

"Once we're a few miles off shore we can call in the chopper for extraction. That will take us to the aircraft carrier we have stationed for intel gathering." Reno explained.

"You have an aircraft carrier?" Fang asked in shock.

"Yep. The Turks- or rather CIA have real deep pockets. After Rufus sorted out HQ we where given a blank cheque." Rude explained in his deep voice.

"Wait until I see that little git! I've been asking for new equipment for weeks!" Fang barked, causing Vincent to crack a rare smile that went unnoticed.

Soon the fishing boat had traveled several miles into the sea which was beginning to turn from placid and calm to choppy and aggressive. Reno turned the engine off when the helicopter came into view; getting closer and closer as the sun fell behind the horizon. The rotor blades kicked up spray from the ocean surrounding the vessel in its own mini hurricane.

"Okay! Everyone up!" Reno shouted.

One by one the group climbed up into the large MH-53 pave low helicopter. Barret threw the still unconscious Claire over his shoulder as he boarded the aircraft and Vincent carried the buster sword, just as effortlessly as its former blonde owner.

"...Cloud..." Claire mumbled as she tried to sit up. "Whe- Where am I?..."

"You're in the medical ward of a CIA aircraft carrier." Fang said softly as she pushed her friend back down onto the bed. "Easy there.. You fractured your skull."

"I'm not strong enough to save him... Am I?..." Claire asked, feeling her own question was rhetorical.

"You might not have your fancy savior powers but that isn't your problem. Your desperation to get him back is stopping you from planning and calculating your next move. You need to sit down and work out a different approach. They won't kill him, he's too important... You have the time and a room full of people willing to help you. Recover and decide what you want to do and I'll be right here waiting." Her bronze skinned friend told her warmly. "Get some rest... We'll be home soon.."

As soon as the ship pulled into the docks, Claire departed, leaving everyone behind and heading straight for headquarters; or more accurately the CIA department. She used her all access card key to enter the secure CIA floor and headed to the director's office. An agent stood outside the door, guarding it and held his hand out to Claire to stop her advances.

"Director Rufus is busy right now. You'll have to-" The man never got to finish his sentence because the pink haired woman gripped the man's held out arm and wrenched it behind his back and pushed him violently through the door.

"Ah, Lightning... Subtle as ever I see.." Rufus smiled. "How can I be of service?"

"I need you to start the Soldier program.." Claire said with her gaze fixated on Rufus.

"I've been greatly assured by your boyfriend that If I do any mako experiments my head shall be removed from my shoulders..." He said softly. "I'm not building you an army..."

"I don't want you to build me an army.. I want you to turn me into one..."

**A/N: Another short one but it made sense to me to leave it there and I wanted to get another chapter out quickly as I had some nice reviews. I'll try to get another one out as soon as possible. Let me know what you think and please leave a review.**


	5. Chapter 5

_The consequences of the choices you make can change your life in the blink of an eye. Be sure of what you do before you do it because sometimes it can't be undone. For every choice has a consequence.. There will be outcomes not ever dreamed of or dreaded. You will disappoint the people you love, you will be hated, because no one has the dream of yours. They will never understand..._

"I want you to make me like Cloud.." Claire said with fierce determination.

"What makes you think that is even possible?" Rufus inquired. "Jenova is gone.."

"I know you have a sample of Cloud's blood for 'geostigma research'... You're a smart man, I'm sure you can make it work.." Claire answered.

"I am not a scientist miss Farron.." The former president replied, trying desperately to get out of the situation.

"You and your company owe Cloud a great deal.. The mental scars from his past are still present today.. You WILL help me Rufus.. Because if he dies alone in that hell hole I will be the last thing you ever see..." Claire warned in an unusually dark tone as she released the agent that was still being twisted and contorted at her will.

"..And you wish me to do to you the process that haunts Cloud even now?" Rufus asked.

"I'll share his pain If I have to.. But I will save him.." She finished as she turned and walked out of his office. "I'll see you tomorrow.."

(The following day)

Claire, woke up as the sunrise shone through Hope's office window. Refusing to leave the building until she had received her treatment, Claire fell asleep in Hope's office despite him telling her to go home and get some rest. She logged onto his computer and accessed the surveillance system and found the cameras on the CIA floor. _Good morning Rufus... _She thought to herself, seeing the red head walk into his office for the first time of the day. The rose haired beauty made her way down to see him, smiling slightly as the agent stood outside his door lowered his gaze and moved out of her way.

"Come in, Lightning." Rufus shouted before her hand reached the door.

"Are you ready?" Claire asked bluntly.

"Follow me..." He said, rising to his feet.

The pink haired woman did as she was told and followed Rufus out of his office and into a room she had never been in before. It was clearly a lab; a high tech one at that. Brand new flat screen monitors lined the wall's all set up to measure various human functions. In the center of the room stood a glass tank with a metal lid that had a large shower head built onto the inside of it. Two doctors; one male and one female stood at the tank; both wearing the white coats that made Cloud so nervous.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I am lead to believe it is excruciating.." Rufus asked putting emphasis in all of the right words.

"Yes." She replied flatly.

"It's not that simple. The doctors need to run tests to see if your blood is compatible with the blood sample from Cloud." Rufus said.

"Okay, do it." Claire repeated, this time to the female doctor.

The woman took a packet from a nearby table and peeled it open, revealing a fresh needle. She pulled the cap off the needle and gripped Claire's arm, hesitating slightly before puncturing her skin and withdrawing a syringe full of blood.

"It will take ten minutes to run the test." The female doctor said as she handed Claire a ball of wool to place over her injection mark.

The rose haired beauty sat impatiently on the table whilst the two doctors looked at her blood under a microscope and placed it in many strange machines that emitted the only noises present in the room. Their faint hum and occasional beep was drowned out by the door being slammed open causing everyone to turn.

"So it's true..." Vincent's gravelly voice echoed across the room. "I expected more from you, Rufus..."

"She was rather persuasive." He replied in his charming voice.

"You realize this process could destroy you.. And not just your body, but your mind.. Few women have survived the process.." Vincent said, remembering Rosso the Crimson and her warped and sadistic ways.

"I killed god himself just to save my sister!" Claire barked as she leaped of the table and marched over to Vincent, getting inches from his face. "This is a small risk in comparison!"

"Do as you wish... But remember.. Humanity is a precious gift.. One should not be so eager to loose it.." He replied calmly, not rising to Claire's aggression.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Claire spat, but Vincent had turned his back on her and began to walk out of the door. "Would you not do everything in your power to protest the one you loved?!"

Vincent paused briefly but did not turn. The vision of his argument with Lucrecia about her experiment on her own child replayed in his mind in vivid detail. He had often questioned himself about what could have been if he tried a different approach. _That is my sin..._ "The person that exit's that tank is usually not the same person that enters it.." He finished as he disappeared out of sight.

"I don't care what comes out of that tank as long as it can help Cloud..." She muttered to herself.

"Erm... Director?.." The nervous looking male doctor spoke.

"Yes?"

"We have the results back.. Mr strife's blood won't be needed. It appears that Miss Farron shares the same required genome that Mr Strife has, It is just dormant due to a lack of mako exposure.." The doctor said.

"You sound concerned.." Claire said, noticing his less that thrilled expression.

"The Jenova gene gives off a chemical that causes the host body to become stronger. Mortifera removed her sisters cells from Mr strife, but after being in his body for so long the chemical the cells release clings to the hosts own DNA, creating their own high powered cells.. Everyone in the Soldier program was treated exactly the same with the same dosages of cells and mako yet each of their modified cells were different from the next person because the DNA for one person is unique to them. Miss Farron's are Identical, in every way to Mr Strife's.." He explained.

"Wait... So Cloud's cells could act like Jenova cells? And people like him can be made using his cells?" Claire asked, fearing the worst._That's their plan..._

"In theory, yes.. But we will have to run some tests."

"To hell with your tests!" Claire shouted as she walked over to the tank. "We're doing this right now.."

With a push of a button the glass tube sunk into the floor, separating it from the metallic lid that remained fixed in mid air. Once the glass had vanished completely, Claire was instructed to stand on the marked area and with another switch pressed, the glass rose back up encasing her in what was about to become a world of pain. The lip of the huge glass canister made contact with the metal lid and sealed itself in place. Rufus walked to the tube and looked Claire in the eyes, seeing slight fear for the first time.

"Does it really hurt?" Claire asked nervously.

"Most beg for death when the mako burns into their bare flesh.." Rufus said, in an attempt to scare her.

"I didn't beg when I felt god's wrath.. I wont' beg now.. Let's get this over with..."

"Remember... You wanted this..." Rufus told her.

The young female scientist ran the machinery while the male monitored the many displays that kept track of the pink haired woman's vitals. With one final look around the room, Claire closed her eyes as the first few drops of mako poured onto her scalp, burning her like acid. The flow grew until the glowing green liquid rained down on her, making her scream in agony. Despite her youth, Claire had adapted well to pain over her years of battling, but nothing compared her for the way her body felt at this moment. The seemingly cool and placid liquid attacked every part of her body that it made contact with, soaking deeper and deeper into her flesh with each drop.

After ten minutes the liquid rose from the floor up to her chest, chipping away at her her will power as it climbed up her body inch by inch. Claire pounded the glass in agony but when Rufus was about to break the glass and set her free, the rose haired woman shook her head. Claire had forgotten about the burning sensation that stung her body due to a now more horrifying threat. The mako reached the top of her chin and was beginning to seep into her mouth. The vile liquid had a metallic taste like blood and ate away at the inside of her mouth. Seconds later the glass tube was filled and Claire was running out of breath quickly. _Do I breath it in? Will I drown? Why didn't I ask these things? _She thought to herself. After a mere 30 seconds, Claire could hold on no longer and breathed in the burning liquid, loosing consciousness the moment she did. _Cloud..._

_She isn't breathing_

_That's normal until the mako is pumped from her lungs._

_She needs to be soaked in water to remove any excess mako from her body and clothes._

_I will send for someone to get it done.. I shall inform the others on what she has done.. Expect my head in a box in the near future..._

Claire opened her eyes to find everyone surrounding her bed, including her little sister and the two kids she's been looking after for Tifa. They all looked relieved that she was awake apart from Tifa, who had her arms crossed and a stern expression expression plastered across her face.

"I knew you were rash but I didn't think you'd be this stupid.." Tifa scalded, earning her a shocked look from the rest of the group.

"Tifa!" Barret hissed, silencing the brunette.

"How do you feel?" Serah asked with a smile, ignoring Tifa.

"Strange but okay... I understand why Cloud doesn't like to talk about what happened to him... I wouldn't wish that on anybody... Well...Perhaps Snow.." She said with a weak smile

"Yep, she's better!" Sazh grinned.

"Hey, look at your eyes. They're like Clouds!" Denzel said with excitement.

Claire took the small mirror that sat on the bedside table and examined herself. Her mothers pale blue eyes were gone and in their place were bright cerulean eyes that glowed slightly. As she looked into the mirror she noticed just how well her eyesight had become. Examining the room she saw everything in much greater detail, an advantage she was going to exploit in battle. Her hearing had also improved. Even with a room full of people talking she could still hear the conversation the nurses outside where having like they were stood next to her.

Vincent, who she had been paying little attention to, made his way to the front of the group and stood at the end of her bed next to Fang, who Claire noticed blush when he brush past her. The mysterious, crimson cloaked man stood motionless without saying a word for a moment before brushing his torn cloak to one side and taking the buster sword from under it.

"Take it..." He said bluntly.

Claire hesitated as Vincent gripped the tip of the blade to offer her the handle. If the blade was still to heavy then the process would have failed and it would have been a day of torture for nothing. Taking a deep breath she gripped the red leather handle and lifted the sword into the air effortlessly. She tried her best to hide the look of relief on her face but could not contain herself. Wanting to get Cloud back immediately, she attempted to sit up in bed but Cid quickly pressed her back down with the blunt end of his spear.

"Woah missy! I'm a married man! My wife finds out you exposed yourself to me she won't be happy!" Cid joked, getting a laugh from the room and even a smirk from Vincent.

"What?! ...Oh.." Claire blushed, realizing she was naked under the covers. "Why don't I have clothes on?"

"Once the mako infusion process is finished your body needs to be washed and the saturated clothes removed to decrease the risk of mako poisoning.." Vincent explained.

Feeling exposed, Claire's face turned white. The thought of the doctors or Rufus undressing her was not a pleasant thought.

"I did it." Tifa said in a flat tone, reading the pink haired woman's expression.

"Thanks." Claire said with a smile. Inside however she was less than happy. The thought of her of all people examining and comparing her body was beginning to make her feel sick. She imagined the beautiful woman laughing over her battle scarred body. The group said their goodbye's before everyone left the room so she could get changed into some fresh clothes apart from Denzel who waited behind to talk to his secret mentor.

"I'm glad you're okay." He said with a warm smile. "Your eyes look pretty, I bet Cloud will be pleased to see them." He finished before turning to leave.

"Hey.. I hope your still training." Claire asked with a grin.

"Yep, I've been taking Duke for a run every day and when I bring him back I practice in your gym for a little bit.." He said blushing, realizing he hadn't asked for her permission to use the gym.

"Good, Keep at it.. When me and Cloud are old we'll need someone strong to look after us." She winked. "Get back to Tifa before she goes nuts."

"..She does like you you know.. She just worries about everyone..." Denzel said as he left.

Yet again, Claire; who spent most of her life with a distinct dislike of children, was taken back by the young boy's perceptiveness and warm heart. She saw a lot of Cloud in the boy. Not so much looks but a courage and strength that coincided perfectly with a kind and gentle nature. Standing up out of bed she searched for some clothes to put on and came across a large cardboard box on the floor next to the door. Opening it Claire found a note.

_As you're so hell bent on turning yourself into what Cloud has become I thought you'd like these.._

_Tifa_

Claire pulled out a mass of black fabric and held it out in front of her. To her shock it was an outfit just like Cloud's, tailored to fit her. She remembered it was Tifa who made Clouds uniform and thought back to the time she discovered the emails and built his sword. Claire put the uniform on and looked at herself in the mirror.

Her costume consisted of the same, thick, armless shirt that zipped up at the front but hers was cropped short, revealing her midriff. Baggy trousers were replaced with a short skirt that had a thick leather cloak buckled to it, hanging from her right hip and ending a few inches from the ground. Her boots seemed the same as her guardian corps issue boots but dyed black to match. Tifa had even made a shoulder guard; but instead of the silver wolf's head she had expected, a red orb was sunk into the pauldron in its place. Another note attached to the shoulder guard explained everything.

_'I was given this by a strange chocobo that we bumped into where 'the battle' took place. I think you'll find a better use for it.'_

Taken back by the kindness Tifa usually showed to everyone else but her, she examined the materia closely before putting the shoulder guard on. She still could not identify materia by look alone like the others could but she could tell by the blood red colour it was a summon. She ran her fingers over the crystal sphere feeling a strange connection with it. _Must be the mako.._

Placing the buster sword on her back, she finally felt complete. Eager to get to Cloud she ran from the medical ward and set off to the CIA floor to find Rufus. Claire ran up to the lift but noticing the stairs next to the elevator doors she decided to test out the limits of her speed and dexterity. She looked down over the hand rail to see the floor she needed was six flights down. _Cloud did it. So can I.._

Claire stood on the rail, receiving strange looks from passers by and took a deep breath before leaping out across the vast expanse. Counting the floors as she fell, Claire threw out her hand and gripped the rail, stopping her descent instantly. Her shins smashed against the stairs as she stopped but the pain was minimal. _Not as graceful as I hoped for.. _She told herself as she pulled herself up and opened the door.

"Here for my head miss Farron?" Rufus asked, taking his eyes off a large table to watch her advance.

"No.. Your help." She replied.

"Having an identity crisis?" Reno laughed, noticing her Cloud'esque uniform.

"Tifa made it and I like it.." She told the red head bluntly.

"Each to their own." He smiled, adjusting his well tailored suit.

"How may I help you miss Farron?" Rufus asked.

"I need you to get me into the mountains." Claire asked with a serious expression.

"Funnily enough we were planning just that. Look.." He said pointing to the table which doubled as a computer screen. "The exact location of the lab is unknown. I have had drones canvasing the area but have found nothing, leading me to believe it has been built inside the mountain instead of on it. Sources in the area estimate the lab to be in this area here." He added, pointing to a snow covered mountain area on the screen.

"Can you get me into the general area?" Claire asked in hope.

"The closest we can get you is here..." Rude pointed, speaking for the first time. "It's a few miles from the base of the mountain but any closer and you'll be picked up on enemy radar."

"So I'm jumping out of a plane again?" Claire sighed.

"Yes.. but this time you'll have to hike to your objective. All major cities and military bases have been put on high alert after the last bright idea you had.." Rufus said with a grin. "So... How many of you are going this time?"

"Just me.." The rose haired beauty answered.

"That may not be an option.." The former president said, causing Reno and Rude to glance at each other and grin. "Tifa is waiting for you at the plane. She was quite adamant that you were not to leave without her.."

"Great..."

At the plane Tifa stood waiting with a large rucksack on her back and another at her feet. Whilst she did not approve of Claire's most recent decision she could not bring herself to let the woman Cloud loves go alone. Claire walked up to the plane, making eye contact with the brunette as she got closer and smiled uncomfortably.

"I take it you like it?" Tifa asked, pointing to the outfit Claire was wearing.

"Yeah, It fits great. Thanks." Claire said truthfully.

"I took your measurements when you were recovering from the mako treatment.." She explained. "Are we ready?" The brunette added, realizing the conversation was causing Claire discomfort.

"Ready." Claire nodded.

**(Outside Vincent's House)**

"Come on, come on, come on." Fang said to herself impatiently as she pounded on the front door of Vincent Valentine.

"Give him chance..." Nanaki said in annoyance.

After what felt like a lifetime to Fang, Vincent finally opened the door and looked at her with a blank expression.

"Yes?.." He said in his deep tone.

"What.. No 'Hey, Fang how are you? How's your day been?'." The brunette said sarcastically, finding his lack of words irritating.

"Fang!" Vanille scalded. "How do you expect him to help us if you're being mean to him!?"

Vincent let out a sigh as the two young women bickered on his doorstep. He looked down at Nanaki who shook his head at their child like arguing.

"Nanaki...?" The caped man said, hoping to get an answer to what was going on.

"Lightning and Tifa have boarded a plane and are heading back to rescue Cloud. Fang wanted to go with her but she's already left. She asked me for help in asking you to accompany her.." nanaki explained briefly.

"Why me?" Vincent asked with suspicion in his eyes.

"Because Cid is too busy prepping his new ship for battle, Yuffie is training my special forces in wilderness survival and I don't want to take Barret and Sazh from their children.. That and I trust you and you're a decent shot." The brunette answered.

"Is she going?.." The former turk said, pointing to Vanille.

"Yes- but she promises to be really quiet and not annoying." Fang replied, knowing her happy, talkative attitude grated on the man.

"Very well.."

**(37,000 feet above Disciple mountain range)**

Claire looked out of the frost covered window to the mountains below. Somewhere down there, Cloud Strife; the man she gave her heart to was being held by the enemy and she only had one goal in her mind._ I will find you.. I promise.._

"When was the last time you ate?" Tifa shouted over the loud drone of the engines.

"I honestly don't remember.." Claire said as she thought back.

"Here." The brunette said as she pulled out an energy bar from her rucksack and handed it to Claire. "Doesn't taste great but it will keep you going until we get down there.."

"Thanks." The pink haired woman took the bar and devoured the bland but nutritious snack. "Looks cold down there..."

"Weather reports say minus 21 degrees Celsius." Tifa said, causing Claire to look down at her new uniform, noticing the around of bare skin on show for the first time. "The mako in your body will help regulate your body temperature much more efficiently than normal.." She added, noticing Claire's concern.

"What about you?" Claire asked.

"I brought a coat." Tifa grinned, causing Claire to let out a chuckle. "So she does know how to smile.."

"It's been known to happen occasionally.." The pink haired woman said playfully.

"_1 minute to drop zone! Take positions at the rear of the plane and perform final checks!"_

"This is it.. Let's go." Claire said as she stood and walked to the back of the plane, checking the straps on her parachute.

The rear of the plane opened up, revealing the snow covered terrain thousands of feet below. Gusts of bone chilling wind ravaged their skin as they crept to the edge of the ramp. The pair nodded at each other before leaping from the aircraft and plummeting to the ground. Claire waited until Tifa's chute deployed before pulling her own. The duo decelerated rapidly but the sub zero air meant they where still falling at a faster than desired speed. Reacting on instinct, Claire pulled a fire materia out of her pocket and shot a small blast between Tifa and her parachute, super heating the air and slowing her decent from a deadly fall to a gentle glide. Running out of time to help herself, the rose haired beauty crashed through the tree's, smashing branches as she tumbled uncontrollably until everything went black.

**(Inside DGP mountain lab)**

"Status report professor Dippel?" April asked the man stood beside her bluntly.

"Progress is slow Ma'am.. His cell's don't seem to be compatible with any of the human or animal hosts we've tested so far. We are trying to reverse engineer the chemical compound in his body that is responsible for his beyond human abilities.." The man answered.

"And the Mako treatment?" April inquired, hoping for some good news.

"Initial tests have been failures. Virtually all of the test subjects died after mako injections. I have tried to soak them in the liquid to see if absorption through the skin was an option after the talking beast's clone survived. Like the beast, forty percent of the subjects survived and displayed increased strength but their minds where damaged beyond recognition and they became aggressive." Professor Dippel answered with a wicked expression.

"And where are they now?"

"I have released them into the mountains. Five men and two black bears. They have been implanted with trackers so I can see how far they manage to travel before the cold takes them."

"Very well.. Keep working, I shall try and get answers from my new play thing..." The red headed scientist said with a demonic grin.

Walking away from the man, April swiped her card key on a large iron door that opened up and allowed her passage. Inside the room, which was carved from the mountain stood two metal cages. One with Deneh, a long lost friend of Nanaki inside and the other containing a bed, on which Cloud Strife lay motionless. April looked through the bars before entering to examine his shackles and the drip which kept a constant flow of anesthetic pumping into him, leaving the blonde in a coma like state.

"Ahh my new play thing.. Oh how I have thought about you since the last time we met.." April whispered as she ran her fingers over his body. "It's time for you to wake up Mr Strife." The red haired scientist adjusted the regulator on his drip, reducing the flow to it's lowest setting and waited patiently for the blonde to come around.

"Claire.." The blonde mumbled to himself as his cerulean eyes took in the first view they had seen for a while.

"I'm afraid not, darling.." April whispered into his ear. "It seems we have a problem, Mr Strife.. We can't replicate your strength in others.. Do you know why that might be?"

"..."

"Ahh the strong silent type.." The woman smiled as she walked away from the bed to a stainless steel table across the room. "Let's see how long you stay silent for.." She finished, picking up an electric cattle prod.

Cloud watched April walk towards him with blurred eyes as Deneh watched in silence from the cage behind him. The wicked professor jammed the pronged end into the blonde's side, subjecting him to thousands of volts of electricity but other than a wince he remained silent, refusing to give April the satisfaction of his screams.

"Hmmm.. Quite the tough guy aren't we.. I suppose i'll have to get some more imaginative tools to use.." She said, sending a shiver down the blonde's spine as she locked the cage and left the room.

Cloud lay motionless for a moment as his senses slowly began to return to him. Drips of icy water hit his chest from the jagged rock above him. He looked up to find a four inch hole carved into the rock for ventilation; although Cloud had a feeling he was placed under it to make him as uncomfortable as possible. Movement behind him aroused his curiosity so the blonde struggled with his shackles and wrenched his head as far back as it would go to find the source of the noise.

"Nanaki?!" Cloud shouted, trying to focus on the vague red outline that he recognized as his friend.

"You know Nanaki?!" The red figure asked in shock.

"Er... Yeah.. Who are you?" The cerulean eyed man asked, now more confused than ever.

"I'm Deneh, I grew up with Nanaki in Cosmo canyon. Yourself?" Deneh asked.

"Cloud.. He always believed you there was another like him still alive... He searched for nearly a year.." Cloud said, remembering his friend leaving to find a the origins of his race.

"I thought he'd hate me..." Deneh said with a great sadness in her voice.

"Why?"

"He got caught by the turks, protecting me. I fled the village whilst he fought them off.. I came back and the elders told me the turks took him under the order of professor Hojo..."

"Once we get out of here, I'll take you to him." Cloud promised.

"I've always admired human optimism.. You realize we are locked in here?" Deneh said with a sarcastic tone.

"I know.. But that woman just made another mistake.." The blonde smiled.

"Do tell.." Deneh said, peaking her curiosity.

"She forgot to turn the drip back on..."

**A/N: I'll leave it there, next chapter is going to be all action I think. Apologies for the delay btw. My intention was to have this done 3 days ago but the only time I get to write is 12 at night until I collapse and the past few days sleep has been victorious. Ive had a couple of people ask so i'll explain here. Deneh isn't a made up character but I imagine very few people have heard of her. In the mobile phone game Before Crisis (Japan only sadly) The story follows the turks before the story of crisis core. The turks are sent to cosmo canyon to collect one of whatever the hell Nanaki's species is (never actually stated) Nanaki defends Deneh and allows her to escape and the turks capture Nanaki. If you remember you meet Nanaki in the shinra HQ lab (well that's how he got there) And at the end (500 years later) he is see with 2 cubs so it makes sense that they at some point got it on. Anyway.. History lesson over, I hope you enjoy this one. I know a few people didn't want claire to get the soldier treatment but it's very relevant to the story (although it doesn't really seem like it yet). To answer guest reviewer questions... Cloud is still pretty much as strong now as before the only difference is the lack of wings (Last story he asked for them to be removed as he wants to be human.) They may make a reappearance but im trying to move the story away from gods etc and bring it closer to the original ff7 story. Oh and thanks for the comments on Cid and Vincent, those two are cool guys, I love writing their bits. **


	6. Chapter 6

Tifa landed gracefully on the snow covered ground, narrowly missing the spear like branches as the parachute gently lowered her. Detaching the parachute from her large rucksack she scanned the area for the Claire. After looking in every direction Tifa felt the freezing wind blow her long brunette hair over to the left.

"Maybe the wind carried her further away.." She said to herself.

The brunette set off, following the direction of the wind in the hopes of regrouping with Claire. After only a few hundred meters, Tifa's deep crimson eyes saw a torn white parachute tangled around one of the taller trees in the snowy forest. Racing towards it her eyes fell on something far worse than she could have imagined. Claire was in the tree, facing its wide trunk nearly ten meters up, wrapped in tangled paracord. A sharp branch pierced her shoulder and burst out of her back like a spear, pinning her to the tree.

"Claire!" Tifa shouted as she ran to the base of the tree, panicking at the sight of warm crimson dripping from above, staining the snow below.

When no answer came Tifa took her rucksack off and propped it up against the base of the tree and pulled out a large survival knife and a bundle of rope. She placed the handle of the blade in her mouth and the rope around her shoulder before beginning to climb the tree to help. Once Tifa made it up the tree the true severity of the situation became clear. Carefully, the brunette took the knife at cut the paracord off the rucksack and unbuckled it, sending it crashing to the ground. Next, she wrapped the rope under Claire's arms and tied a knot.

"I'm really sorry Claire but this is gonna hurt like hell..." Tifa whispered sympathetically before hitting the branch, snapping it from the tree and leaving it imbedded in Claire.

"AAAAHHHH!" Claire screamed, snapping out of her unconsciousness with the pain.

Keeping tight hold of the rope, the brunette lowered the pinkette down to the ground slowly then dashed down herself to tend to Claire.

"I need to pull the branch out or it will get infected." Tifa explained.

"Okay.." Claire said, before biting down on her clenched fist as the wooden spike was extracted from her body.

Claire breathed heavily as Tifa packed the wound with snow to slow the bleeding and numb the pain as she searched her rucksack for the materia she had brought with her. After emptying the entire contents of the backpack the brunette found the cure materia and used it on Claire, sealing the wound, front and back.

"It's gonna hurt for a bit but you'll be okay." Tifa smiled.

"Thanks." The rose haired woman replied sincerely.

"No.. Thank you.. You slowed my parachute down instead of your own. If you hadn't it could have been me up there.." Tifa said with a smile. "We should be able to get to the base of the mountain before night fall. We can make camp there."

**(River, 20 miles east of mountains)**

"Gee, it sure is cold.." Vanille said, rubbing her arms.

"I know.. Not like home, is it..." Fang answered as she steered the small inflatable boat down the river. "We've got about another twenty miles of river before we hit the mountain. We're on the other side to where Claire and Tifa landed."

"Why weren't we allowed to get dropped in by air?" Nanaki asked.

"We couldn't risk another plane flying over the area. If we were discovered they'd have shot us down and had an army on the ground withing the hour and Claire and Tifa would be done for.." Fang explained. "How you doing back there moody?"

"Fine.." Vincent replied, not wanting to be draw into the conversation.

After an hour sailing down the river they arrived at the base of the mountain. Vincent helped Fang drag the small, inflatable boat out of the water and bury it in snow to conceal it whilst Nanaki used his exceptional smell to detect anything that could pose a threat to them near by.

"We stop here for the night." Nanaki commanded after deciding it was safe. "...No fire..."

"But it's sooo cold!" Vanille moaned.

"Better to be cold than caught..." Vincent told her in his deep voice.

With that said, Vincent watched as Fang and vanille dug up all of the snow in front of the base of a nearby tree until they reached the slightly warmer grass underneath. Then, using the snow they had removed, began to build a wall around them and the tree to shield themselves from most of the wind.

"I shall take watch up in the tree." Nanaki volunteered being the only one covered in fur. "Get some sleep."

Vincent leaned against the base of the tree and closed his eyes but opened them again when he felt Vanille staring at him with puppy dog eyes. Without saying a word, the mysterious man sighed, but lifted up his torn red cape and allowed Vanille to wrap herself up in it for warmth. Fang, who looked slightly envious of her friend, lent against the tree and closed her emerald orbs.

After an hour had passed, Vincent was woken from his light sleep by mumbling. At first he thought the whimpers were coming from the young girl Vanille but after gently lifting his cloak up he saw her sleeping peacefully with a warm smile on her face. Knowing Nanaki would still be awake, Fang was the only possible source of the noise. He stared at her face which winced in discomfort as an occasional twitch shook her body. Remembering his own nightmares, Vincent, uncharacteristically felt sorry for the bronze skinned beauty and wished she could be spared of her pain.

"I won't do it..." She mumbled. "...Ragnarok... I won't..."

Vincent watched the woman he had observed to be wild and fearless, tremble with the thoughts that ran through her mind. He considered waking the woman but the sun would be up in a few hours and they still needed to make up a lot of ground so he lifted her off the trunk of the tree and rested her head full of wild brunette hair on his chest. Vincent did not need to look up to know Nanaki had a shocked grin on his snout.

"Not a word Nanaki..." He whispered in a flat tone as visions of Lucrecia resting her head on his chest as they danced in her laboratory flooded his mind, giving him a vicious reminder of the pain love brings. _Move on, Vincent..._

**(Base of mountain)**

Claire opened her eyes the moment the sunlight shone through their makeshift shelter. She brushed passed the wall of broken and woven branches that made up their cover for the night and stretched out her arms causing her shoulder to make a cracking noise. _Still a little stiff.._ She thought, rubbing her materia healed shoulder. Rummaging through her rucksack, Claire pulled out two silver packets and returned to the shelter to wake Tifa.

"Hey.." Claire said softly, arousing the brunette from her sleep. "Here.. Eat this."

"What is it?" Tifa asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"An MRE.. The most disgusting thing you will ever put in your mouth.. But it's got everything you need for the day."

"You really can't cook can you?" Tifa grinned.

"Unless ordering takeout counts, no."

"Hang on.." Tifa said as she found her backpack and rooted though it until she pulled out two Tupperware boxes and handed one to Claire, who looked confused.

"What's this?" Claire asked.

"Open it and find out."

Claire opened the lid and dropped the MRE's the second her eyes found it's contents. Inside lay an assortment of food that after a hectic few days was making the pinkette's mouth water. She pulled out the largest item that was wrapped in tin foil and tore it open like it a child tears open a Christmas present. Inside was a soft, eight inch baguette that was stuffed with chicken, bacon and lettuce. After taking her first bite into it, Claire couldn't stop. Only after she had finished did she look up at Tifa who was laughing at her.

"That... Was amazing.. You're an even better cook than Serah." Claire praised, wiping the crumbs from her lips.

"I think not eating properly for days has affected your mind." Tifa said modestly.

"Are those brownies?" Claire asked as she looked down into the container, convinced the stress of the last few days and the extreme cold was making her hallucinate. With the irrational fear that they could vanish at any moment, she ate all three of the brownie slices whilst Tifa ate her own food at a leisurely pace.

After eating their food, and having a brief chat that ended with Tifa promising to make Claire a batch of brownies once they returned, they packed up their rucksacks and Claire claimed her sword from the snow before heading off up the mountain. The first few hundred meters was going smoothly but as they climbed, the gentle slope turned into a steep cliff, reducing their ascent to a snail's pace.

"Claire... Claire stop.." Tifa said as she reached for her binoculars. "Look.."

Claire followed Tifa's finger until her mako eyes fell upon what looked like steam rising from the mountain, just below the summit. _Got ya..._

"Well spotted." The rose haired woman praised. "The lab must be there.. You ready for a tough climb?"

**(INSIDE LABORATORY)**

"How are you feeling now?" Deneh asked the blonde who was shackled to the bed in the other cage.

"I'm beginning to get the feeling back in my body but I'm not strong enough to break though yet" Cloud answered, hoping April wouldn't realize her mistake and fix it.

Cloud watched the icy water drip onto his chest from the hole above. Light shone down from the sky above, lighting up his body but leaving the rest of the room in dim light. He watched the clouds float past though the small hole as his mind turned to Claire. He would give anything in the world to see her right now but at the same time he did not want her to rescue him through fear of her getting killed.

"Claire..." He strained, still without the strength to break free.

"Claire?" Deneh said. "Is she your wife?"

"No.. She's my err.. Girlfriend.. I think..." The blonde answered in an embarrassed tone, realizing it was the first time he had ever referred to her as his girlfriend.

Deneh was about to speak when the light from above was eclipsed and the room fell into darkness. Cloud kept his cerulean eyes fixed on roughly where the hole was as he heard the rock above him scraping. A second later, a green orb fell from the hole, lighting the room with an emerald glow as the light from above it it and scattered in all directions. The materia hit Cloud in the chest, winding him slightly but the blonde kept his eyes fixed on the roof.

"You don't have long before she returns.. I'd be quick Mr Strife.."

"Who are you?" He asked the voice.

"A friend of a friend.."

Cloud waited a few seconds, taking in the mysterious yet familiar voice before turning his attention to the emerald orb that rested on his chest. Taking a deep breath, he focused on it as he watched it sink into his body._ Heal materia..._ Cloud felt the effects of the anesthetic wear off as the materia's power flowed through his body with a soothing wave. Using his returned strength, he ripped off one of the arm shackles and used his free hand to untie all of the rest. For the first time, he got a proper look at Deneh as he approached her cage. She was smaller than nanaki and lacked the tattoo's and scars that covered the Cosmo canyon warriors body from years of fighting but the resemblance was striking none the less.

"Move away from the door." He instructed before booting it off it's hinges and smashing it into the stone wall in front of him.

"Never seen a human do that before.." Deneh said with an impressed look.

The blonde almost seemed hurt by her words but was forced to spin on his heels and run towards the door as he heard the handle get pulled down firmly. April walked into the room, checking her reflection in the highly polished serrated blade she had in her grasp to notice Cloud was no longer tied down. The slamming of the door behind her instantly triggered the realization that she had made a mistake. She spun around and slashed blindly with the short sword but the blade stopped dead in the blonde's hand. Gripping the blade so tightly that crimson blood dripped down its mirrored surface, Cloud's face was less than an inch away from the woman's. His mako blue eyes burned into her own, sending an unmatched fear through her trembling body.

"Boo..." The mako eyed soldier said in a flat tone, causing the professor to jump.

Dragging her to the bed he was once tied to, Cloud threw her onto it and shackled her two legs and an arm onto it. He looked at the short sword that was now in his grip and then back at April, weighing up what he should do with her. After a brief pause, the blonde raised the blade above the red haired scientist and brought it crashing down, sticking it deep into the bed so close to her face that Deneh thought he had killed her.

"If I ever see you again..." Cloud said, not needing to finish his sentence to receive a vigorous nod of compliance. "Lets go, Deneh."

**(East of mountains)**

Fang opened her emerald eyes to the sight of black straps and buckles. Realizing her head was resting on Vincent's chest, the bronze skinned beauty smiled to herself, knowing that she did not fall asleep on him and he had moved her close to him. _So there is a heart behind the cold exterior..._Thinking about his heart, Fang closed her eyes briefly and listened to his, becoming concerned after less than a minute. She listened to his heartbeat go from nearly nonexistent to well love two hundred beats per minute back to a standstill in a precise rhythm. Gently lifting her head from his chest, the wild haired woman stood up and whispered up to Nanaki who was still perched in the tree.

"Hey.. Is Vincent..Okay?" She asked, realizing her question was vague. "I mean his heartbeat is erratic. People usually have heart attacks when this sorta thing happens. What's up with him?"

"It is not for me to say.. And I suggest you don't pry.. He is a private man.." Nanaki warned.

"But he is going to be fine? Right?" Fang asked, now worried.

"I am fine..." Vincent's deep voice spoke, causing Fang to jump.

"You're awake?! ..I just don't want to be carrying your body all the way back home is all.." She replied as she regained her cocky composure.

"We need to go.." Vincent said, wanting to kill the conversation dead but Vanille was wrapped up so tightly in his cloak he could not yank it free. Instead of waking the sleeping red head up abruptly, he scooped her up, still in his torn crimson cape and began to carry her towards the mountain.

"How come he has took to her and not me?" Fang asked Nanaki as they walked together behind Vincent.

"Humans.. They look but they do not see... Vanille annoys him, he'd rather carry a sleeping Vanille than walk next to a talking one." Nanaki scoffed. "He actually seems to like you, despite your abrasive personality..."

"Hey! I'm nice.. Well.. I can be.." Fang blushed.

After a few hours the four friends made it to the base of the mountain. Realizing his silent walk was now over, Vincent rather unceremoniously dropped Vanille into a pile of fluffy white snow and continued up the mountain. Leaving Fang to pull her friend out of the snow.

"Well that wasn't very nice.." Vanille said as she brushed the snow from her hair. "Still.. He kept me warm last night so I guess I can't grumble.."

"And carried you for miles." Fang added.

"Oh yeah.. we're at the mountain.. This exploration stuff is easy!" Vanille beamed before skipping off after Vincent.

Nanaki sighed in annoyance and chased after the pair but stopped after a few steps._ There's something here.._

"You sense it too?" Fang asked.

"I smell it..." He said, searching the forest. "The reek of mako..."

"Vincent!"Fang roared.

Vincent turned around at the sound of his name causing a daydreaming Vanille to walk into him. Drawing his gun at the sound of running footsteps, he aimed his three barrel pistol; the Cerberus, into the tree line, shooting a charging bear in the heart. Much to his surprise, the bear shrugged of the shot like a paper cut and continued it's rampant charge towards them. He continued to fire at the beast, leaving crimson stains in the snow behind the bear with each shot. After being injured the mutant bear changed its direction slightly and ran towards Vanille, who froze in terror. Fang could not get to her in time but Nanaki did, colliding into the side of the bear at the last moment, knocking it away from Vanille.

"It's been exposed to mako." Nanaki said between breaths. "It's fur has flecks of green crystal in it."

Ignoring Nanaki's warning, Fang ran at the bear, launching her spear into it's chest as she neared. It roared in pain but was still able to swat her away with its foot wide paw. Much to the former turk's surprise, the fearless brunette got back up and continued to grapple with the bear. Diving under the bear as it swiped at her, she slid under it's hind legs as she grabbed her spear, pulling the black pelted beast into the ground.

"You lot been paying attention?" Fang asked in a smug tone as she placed her foot on the downed bear's head.

Her trophy shot was short lived however when the mako infused animal lifted itself of the ground again, causing the bronze skinned beauty to fall at it's feet. Nanaki sprinted to intercept the blow that was sure to end the brunettes life followed closely behind by Vincent. The Bear's blade like claws came down on the downed woman but ceased their attack when Nanaki sunk his razor sharp teeth into the bear's throat, tearing the artery and splaying blood all over him. The finishing blow came from Vincent however, who thrust his clawed gauntlet into the bear's chest and pulled out it's heart, dropping the beast instantly.

"Thanks." Fang said gratefully as she held her hand up for Vincent to pull her up.

"Hmph..." He grunted, ignoring her hand and walking past her. _An immortal life should avoid attachments..._ He thought to himself as he thought about her emerald eyes. Although he was unsure why, the woman peaked his interest and he was trying his best to distance himself from her for that very reason. _It would be cruel to love someone and watch them wither and die of old age as I live on past them..._

"Hey!" Fang barked, pushing vincent in the shoulder and snapping him out of his solemn thoughts. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Fang!" Vanille shouted, shocked by her words.

"No! Since the day I met you you've been funny with me! Why!?" The brunette barked.

The former turk turned around, flicking his torn cape over his arm as he walked away from her without saying a word. He could see that he'd hurt her feelings but it was better this way he told himself.

"Oi! I'm not done with you!" She shouted pushing him in the back again.

"Enough!" Nanaki shouted as she saw Vincent's fist clench.

Second's later, Vincent was on his knee's clutching his chest and gasping for breath. Fearing she had brought on a heart attack, Fang sprinted to his side and gripped his face with her warm hands. The fear in her green eyes reflecting in the dark haired mans pain filled, blood red orbs.

"I'm so sorry." Fang whispered.

As if by magic, Vincent's pain subsided with her apology and he slowly climbed to his feet with the help of Fang. They all looked at him with a concerned look, none more so than Nanaki, who understood what could have happened if Vincent hadn't build up the level of control over Chaos during his many years.

"I'm fine.." He said, noticing everyone's eyes on him. "We need to get up this mountain.."

**(INSIDE LABORATORY)**

Cloud and Deneh left the room that they had been in for what felt like all eternity and found themselves in the middle of a large laboratory with crude mako tanks lining the walls, most filled with people. A shiver ran down his spine as he remembered his years on the basement of the Shinra mansion but he continued on anyway. His heavy boots on the stone floor made the nearest of the four scientists in the room look up from his microscope in horror.

"Specimen A and C have escaped!" The man yelped, as he ran towards the door, pressing a red button that sounded an alarm.

Six armed soldiers burst through the two doors in the far corner of the room and opened fire on them immediately. Cloud and Deneh took cover behind a work bench as the men emptied their magazines into the desk. The blonde waited patiently for the distinct sound of their rifles bolts locking back, signaling that they needed to reload and leaped over the desk, kicking the closest man across the face before he landed again. The next soldier ripped the empty magazine out of his rifle and fumbled with his tactical vest for a new one, dropping it at the sight of Cloud approaching. The soldier knelt down to retrieve his bullet filled magazine but his face was met with the mako eyed man's knee, knocking him unconscious.

Deneh lunged at the closest soldier to her, biting into his throat and snapping his neck, killing the man instantly. Cloud worked his way from soldier to soldier until only one remained. The man slammed a fresh magazine into his rifle and racked the charging handle, chambering a round as the blonde reached him. The terrified soldier squeezed the trigger before he had chance to shoulder the weapon, missing with his first three shots and hitting Cloud in the arm with the fourth before it was swatted away and he was being choked.

"Where am I?" Cloud asked calmly.

"In the... Northern mountains.." The soldier heaved.

"And how do I get off it?" He interrogated.

"There's an.. Underground... tram.. that will take you to the... base of the mountain." He wheezed. "Over there..." He pointed to a door to his left.

"Thank you." Cloud said, releasing the man from his iron grip.

"You're not going to kill me?" The man asked in shock.

"I've never wanted to kill anyone in my life..." Cloud said softly, taking his rifle and walking to the door with Deneh in his wake. "I'm coming, Claire..."

**(Half way up mountain)**

"How you doing back there?" Claire asked.

"I'm good. The air is a little thin up here though." Tifa answered in a cheerful tone as she dug her ice pick into the rock above.

"We're nearly there. I can see the hole the heat is coming from." Claire replied.

The duo continued their short climb up the snow covered mountain until they reached the hole that was spewing out steam. Claire pulled out a flare and struck it on its striker lid, setting off a bright red light in her hand and threw it into the hole, setting of a near immediate shriek of pain below. Looking down the hole, Claire saw April being burned by the flare that landed on her chest.

"What a shame..." She said sarcastically.

"Hey, look! Footprints." Tifa said, pointing at the snow. "Who in their right mind would be up here?... Well.. except us." She laughed.

"I don't know but let's keep vigilant.. Stand back, I'm gonna open the door." Claire said, looking at the hole in the ground.

"What door?" The brunette asked as she moved away.

"This one." She answered as she slammed the tip of the buster sword into the hole, shattering the rock around it and sending her falling through the hole.

Claire landed gracefully and checked every corner of the room before the dust had settled. A large rock that was once the roof had fallen on the red haired scientist's arm, shattering it and knocking the woman out in the process. She took the flare that had now burnt out, leaving April's abs with third degree burns off of her and cast it to one side and examined the cage that stood at the back of the room. It's door kicked in from the outside.

"It's clear, you can come down Tifa."

Tifa jumped down into the room that was carved out of the mountain and surveyed the carnage. She looked at April, the woman who abducted Cloud with eyes filled with hate. Realizing quickly that it was April locked in the room and not Cloud, Tifa ran to the door and went to open it when April's weak voice spoke.

"Only I know where... He is being... held..."

"Well I suggest you tell us or I'll show you pain like nothing you could ever imagine.." Claire said with a fierce tone.

"I won't... tell you... but I will show.. You.." She said in a near whisper.

"If you would be so kind." Claire said sarcastically as she pushed the rock off her shattered arm causing her to scream in pain. "Quit moaning! Get up!"

April stood up on unsteady feet and hobbled over to the door with Claire and Tifa in her wake, watching her every move. The red haired scientist expected there to be a massacre on the other end of the door and upon opening it realized she was only half right. Leaning against one of the work benches was a lone soldier, who stood from his slouch at the sound of the door opening. She walked into the room and looked at the nearest functional computer, judging the distance and the speed she was capable of in her condition.

"Show me your hands!" Claire barked at the soldier who raised his arms in the air immediately.

"I won't move, I promise!" He pleaded, hoping that she wouldn't kill him.

The soldier provided just enough of a distraction for April to reach the nearest computer and rapidly type away on the keyboard before Tifa dragged her away, throwing her to the ground.

"It's too late.. You're all dead!.. Checkmate.." April grinned, coughing up blood.

"Er... Tifa.. We have a problem.." Claire said, never taking her eyes off of the Mako tanks that lined the walls, almost all containing a man, each opening, pouring their contents onto the floor.

The mako infused men fell to the ground, seemingly dead but their fingers began to twitch and then their arms and legs. The pair watched as the men slowly stood up and fixed their glowing mako eyes onto them with a hungry glare.

"Let's get out of here!" Tifa shouted.

"Where's Cloud!?" Claire shouted at April, ignoring Tifa's plea's to leave. "Answer me!" She roared.

"Haha he's been ground into a paste and fed to the men in front of you!" April laughed between coughs.

"Liar!" Claire screamed, striking the scientist across the face, killing her.

"You're looking for the blonde man?" The soldier asked as he backed away from the mutated men and towards the pair. "He's through that door." He said, pointing towards the door behind the mako infused savages.

Claire watched the man reach for one if his fallen comrade's rifles and drew her blade, ready to strike the man down but he turned it's barrel on the men and opened fire. Relieved that there was now one less enemy and one, at the very least, temporary comrade on their side, Claire charged at the creatures that where once men and slashed at them, failing to bring them down with multiple swipes of her sword. The monstrous men oozed with mako as they advanced, getting more dexterous with every second. They fired wave after wave of fire, ice and lightning magic at the two women and the soldier, injuring the latter.

"They're like walking materia!" Tifa shouted. "We attack physically they throw up barriers and counter with magic!"

Claire and Tifa quickly became overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the impressively resilient men that mindlessly attacked them without mercy. That was until a shot rang out behind her, hitting one of the men in the head and dropping him. The duo turned to find smoke pour from one of the three barrels of Vincent Valentine's gun. Behind him stood Nanaki, fang and Vanille who all sprinted to form a defensive line.

"You miss us?" Fang asked.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Claire asked as she removed the head off one of the advancing men.

"I knew you'd end up doing something stupid so I thought I'd better come and save you." The brunette laughed as she ran in with her spear.

"Thanks.. All of you.." Claire said, realizing just how good her friends were.

"Thank us with beer when we get back!" Fang shouted as she swung her spear around her body before jamming the two prongs at the tip into the chin of one of the men, killing him.

Vanille used the materia given to her by Yuffie to keep the team shielded from the monster's elemental blast's as they made short work of the failed experiments. Once the last had fell by tifa's round house kick, the group took in the view around them. Mako soaked the floor on the far side of the room, burning anything organic like acid. Bodies of the failed experiments littered the floor along with a multitude of science equipment. _I wonder if they were volunteers.. _Claire thought as she looked down on the glowing green men.

"Who's this guy?"Fang asked, prodding the injured soldier with her spear.

"A Disciple soldier.. He hasn't been any trouble; in fact he stood with us and fired on the monsters." Tifa answered. "He did say he knew where Cloud is though.."

"I do.. He went through that door across the room with an animal that looks like that." The soldier said, pointing to Nanaki.

"It must be Deneh!" Nanaki shouted in uncharacteristic excitement.

"Why are you helping us?" The bronze skinned woman asked the soldier.

"When the blonde man escaped the room he was being held in we all rushed to stop him... Even after I shot him he didn't want to kill me.. He just wanted to go home and see someone called Claire.. I've spent my life being told that you are the evil ones but the blonde man's eyes held no evil. I will face whatever punishment you feel is appropriate for my crimes.." The man finished, bowing his head in shame.

"Get out of here.. Before I change my mind.." Claire said to the man with a tear in her eye at the thought of Cloud rushing to see her.

The group gave Claire a moment whilst they searched the laboratory, taking any and all information on the facility and the research it carried out. Vincent checked one of the computers in the corner for anything of concern and removing the hard drives, giving Fang a chance to talk to him in private.

"Hey, moody.." She smiled playfully.

"Yes...?" Vincent replied.

"You know I don't bite you know... Well, I have once but he deserved it..." Fang rambled on but she was convinced that just for a second the corner of his pale lips twitched into a smile. "You feel okay after before?"

"Yes..."

"When's your birthday?" Fang asked randomly.

"Why?" The former turk said in annoyance.

"I'm gonna get you a dictionary for your birthday so you can expand your vocabulary." She winked.

"You're very... Persistent..."

"That's because you intrigue me, Mr Valentine..." Fang said, taking one last look at him before returning to Claire.

"Okay, are we all ready? Cloud went through that door." Claire pointed at a door across the room. "I hope everyone has shoes. The mako on the floor will burn like hell."

Claire set off first, walking through the shallow puddle of mako and the mass of bodies that were scattered across the floor. Tifa followed closely behind, moving as quickly as she could without splashing the green liquid on her legs. One by one they all crossed, including Nanaki who had shown impressive resistance to the liquid that merely felt unpleasant on his fiery pelt. Fang stood at the edge of the thin layer of mako and looked down at her sandals._ I need to buy some boots... _She thought to herself until her feet were taken from under her.

"What the?! Oh..." Fang shouted but soon relaxed when she realized Vincent had picked her up and was now carrying her across the mako. "You sure know how to treat a lady, don't you Mr Valentine." She grinned as he placed her safely on dry ground.

"I don't think anyone has ever called you a lady." Vanille teased.

"Hey!" Fang fired back playfully. "Just because I'm not a pushover doesn't mean I don't like a bit of chivalry.-Hey! Light wait for us!"

**(Underground Tram, Base of mountain)**

The decrepit old tram screeched to a halt at the base of the mountain just like the soldier said it would. Cloud and Deneh got off the box of rust and it accented back up the steep climb to the laboratory. Feeling the fresh, pine scented air being funneled down the corridor in front of him, the blonde set off into a sprint for freedom from the nightmare inducing laboratory. After a short walk the pair were met with two large doors with the initials D.G.P painted across them in faded white paint.

"We might be out of that lab but we are on the other side of the world to where you wish to go.. You do realize that?" Deneh asked, as she watched the blonde's mind wander as he unlocked the door.

"I know.. But I WILL get home... One was or another.." Cloud answered, not giving much thought beyond getting out of that lab.

"Then focus on what you want the most. Keep it at the front of your mind and you will achieve it.." Deneh said. "What do you want more than anything?"

"I want to see Claire.. And tell her that I love her..." He whispered as he pushed open the door.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess.. We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface. The wandering soul knows no rest..." An auburn haired man said in an arrogant tone as Cloud's eyes fell on him.

"Loveless, act one.." Cloud replied on instinct, recalling the words from the play Cid had told him he saw.

The man stood in the middle of a small snowy field surrounded by the fresh scented pine tree's the blonde could smell from outside. His red leather coat was the first thing to catch the cerulean eyed man's eye, closely followed by his crimson rapier that was held at his side, ready to draw blood. Deneh barked at the stranger but Cloud waved her down as he tried to figure out why he thought he knew the man in front of him.

"I have been searching for you for quite some time, Cloud Strife.." The man spoke.

"I know you.. But I don't know why..." Cloud said, examining him Further.

"I'm hurt.. Although you where not quite yourself the last time we were together.. My name is Genesis Rhapsodos.. And I'm here to destroy you.." As if a light bulb went off in his head, the blonde instantly recognized the former soldier first class. He remembered Zack telling him of Genesis and Angeal, Sephiroth's only friends.

"Why do you want to kill me?" Cloud asked.

"To rid the world of every trace of evil. For I have been cleansed by the goddess and in turn I shall rid the world of the cancerous cells that flow through your body."

"Come and try..." Cloud said, taking the safety off the rifle he took from the soldier and took aim.

Genesis charged through the snow, kicking up the white powder as he neared. Cloud opened fire on the advancing man, knowing that the hail of bullets would do nothing but slow the man down. The sword wielding soldier swung his sword in front of him, blocking most of the oncoming bullets or deflecting them behind. The sound of an empty rifle forced Cloud to use it as a staff, thrusting it in front of him to block the deadly rapier from splitting him in two.

"Cloud!" A voice he longed to hear shouted behind him.

"Claire?!" He said with a mixture of joy and surprise.

Seeing his chance, Genesis used the distraction to slash at the blonde, cutting the inside of his leg and dropping him on his knee and giving him the perfect opportunity to remove Cloud's spiky blonde head from his shoulders.

"Cloud!" Claire screamed as she sprinted towards his attacker with her sword drawn. _I'm not gonna make it!_

Genesis rubbed his hand across the blade's face, illumination it with a burning red aura before lifting the sword above his head. He was ready to claim victory when an arrow shot past Claire's head and struck the red coated man in the chest, causing him to stagger back. Everyone turned to find the source of the shot came from a menacing figure dressed in black with a large hood that hid his identity. He aimed a compound bow that Claire's little sister would be envious of at Genesis and fired another shot as he walked through the group to face his pray.

Nobody stopped the hooded figure that looked like an assassin as he drew another arrow from his quiver and placed it on the string before pulling it back and releasing it at Genesis. The arrow flew through the air at a blistering pace but was plucked from the sky by the auburn haired man who caught it right before it hit him between the eyes. After throwing the arrow to the ground, Genesis gripped the two arrow shafts and snapped them in half as he watched the assassin draw a blue handled broadsword from his back and sprint towards him. Claire and Tifa ran towards Cloud who struggled to his feet as the hooded man dueled with Genesis.

"There is a truck half a mile down that track!" The assassin shouted to the group. "Go now! I can't hold him off forever!"

"Who are you?!" Cloud shouted as his friends dragged him away.

"I told you. A friend of a friend!" The man shouted as he parried a cross slash from the man in red. "Go!"

Cloud reluctantly limped down the road as fast as he could until the truck came into view half a mile away as promised. Taking the wheel, Fang turned the key that sat waiting in the ignition and set off down the dirt track.

"Looks like we're home free."

**A/N: A longer one this time. I'll check through it tomorrow as its 2:30am and im up in 3 hours lol. Anyway.. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, its got a little more action in than the last ones but after 6 chapters they are finally reunited. Let me know what you think of this chapter please, I love reading your reviews good or bad. Oh and an internet cookie for whoever can tell me who dropped the heal materia to Cloud and is now taking on Genesis. If you want to imagine what 'The assassin' looks like picture Malcolm Merlin out of the tv show 'Arrow' but he looks nothing like that in the game so that's not really a clue to his identity :P Thanks for reading **

**Wolf**


	7. Chapter 7

"Looks like we're home free." Fang said as she looked down the winding dirt road that lead on for miles.

"We need to go back and help him." Cloud demanded. "He won't last long against Genesis.."

"I've just got you back. There's no way we're going back there.." Claire said as she dressed his gunshot wound. "Who's genesis?"

"He was a Soldier 1st class and one of Sephiroth's two friends.. There's still blank parts of my memory around that time because of the mako poisoning but I was sure he was killed in action.." Cloud answered.

"Looked to me like our mystery archer was more than holding his own. I wouldn't worry about him." Fang said comfortingly as she searched for her phone before flicking through her contacts and dialing. "It's me, we're heading north on a dirt track. The package is secure but we need an extract location.. -No you moron! 'The Package' as in Cloud. Put Rude on before I cut that stupid pony tail off and ram it down your throat!" The huntress barked down the phone at Reno. After a much more civilized conversation with Rude, the group where instructed to continue their heading north until they reached an abandoned Disciple air force base.

Claire lifted her head up from the blonde's shoulder and gave him a warm smile that was reciprocated until their eyes locked and Cloud could see for the first time since they had been reunited the lengths Claire went to, in order to bring him home safely.

"What have you done?" The blonde asked in horror as Claire looked away quickly.

"It's not as bad as you think.." Claire mumbled, still unable to look him in the eyes. "It only hurt a little.." she lied.

"You could have lost your mind!" Cloud shouted, shocking himself more than anyone else with his raised voice.

"I was loosing my mind without you!" She fired back.

He saw the hurt look on her face and mentally scalded himself for shouting at her. He placed his hands on Claire's face and gently turned her head to face him, noticing for the first time just how beautiful her eyes actually were. When he looked in the mirror, all the blonde saw was a monster but on Claire they were different. The bright blue eyes that looked at him seemed to sparkle in the dullness of the truck. Cloud did not agree with what she had done but he loved her regardless. "I'm sorry for shouting.. I love you.." He whispered, kissing her on the forehead.

"Let's play a game!" Vanille shouted, turning everyone away from their own conversations. "I spy, with my little eye..."

Fang let out a laugh as Vincent sighed and looked out of the window, seemingly ready to throw himself out of the truck if he had to listen to her for the next two hours.

**(Aerospace design and engineering department)**

"Hoist the damn crane up! That rail gun ain't gonna fit itself!" Cid barked as he watched his crew operate the large crane that lifted electromagnet powered cannon up towards the new airship.

"Hey! Highwind! Is that really necessary?" Sazh shouted up to Cid as he and two of the crew mounted the rail gun onto bow of the Airship.

"Quit ya yappin! If we had this puppy on the last one we could have leveled that stupid Disciple city!" Cid shouted down defensively.

"I think you've overlooked a problem with your design.." The dark skinned pilot said, regretting his words as soon as they left his lips.

Cid inserted the last of the foot long bolts through the rail gun's swiveling mount and handed the wrench to the nearest of his crew to tighten it up as he slid down one of the many ladders that hung from the unnamed ship's hull that stood in the kilometer long hanger. He marched over to Sazh who was waiting to receive the bad tempered pilot's wrath.

"I'm waitin'..." Cid said with his arms crossed.

"You've added to much weight to the front, it's gonna throw the stabilization system out of sync." Sazh explained with a smile on his face.

"Well smart ass... I took the glass out of the bridge and replaced it with bullet proof lexan, it's a quarter of the weight and twice the strength and I've added more weight to the rear." Cid answered, wiping the smile of Sazh' face.

"More weight?" Sazh asked.

Cid didn't tell his fellow pilot but instead took a walk to the other end of the hanger and climbed up onto the rear, outer deck of the airship with Sazh right behind him, curious to see what Cid had done. With a look of sheer pride across his face, the spear wielding pilot took a small tablet out of his pocket and began to tap his fingers across it. Seconds later motors could be heard winding up and blocks of the teak deck began to rise, revealing 4 sentry guns that now stood on the edges of the deck, scanning their surroundings for enemies.

"..." Sazh sighed and shook his head. "I knew I shouldn't have introduced you to the head of the weapons development and manufacturing.."

"Just quit ya whinin' and help me wire up the shield generator.. Where is that little squirt with that barrier materia anyway?..."

"WATCH IT OLD MAN!" Yuffie shouted from the hanger floor. "You stopped smoking for two days and you're all ready getting on everyone's nerves!" She shouted as she scaled the ship quickly with her ninja skills.

"Took your time didn't ya?" Cid moaned as Yuffie handed over a mastered barrier materia.

"You know how long it took my to master this with such weak monsters around here?! What do you need it for anyway?" She asked.

"Sazh here has made a generator that can activate the materia and shield the ship from small arms fire and limit damage from rockets. We needed it mastered because of how big the ship is." He explained.

"Sound's cool... Anyway... I'm off to continue mining! I've found that much gems that me and boobs are going to have a billion gill by the end of the month!" Yuffie beamed as she began to walk away.

"Er... Yuffie.."Cid whispered as he chased after her. "You couldn't smuggle some cigarettes in here for me? Shera has told everyone not to buy me any.." He pleaded.

Yuffie slapped the man on the forehead, leaving behind a small plaster that wrinkled as he frowned.

"Nicotine patch.. Now stop being a moody old man and play with your expensive toy.. You thought of a name yet by the way?" Yuffie said.

"I'll name it the Kisaragi if you bring me some cigarettes.." Cid said in a final attempt to persuade her.

"Bye Cid.." Yuffie laughed as she walked away from him and left the hanger.

**(Abandoned Air force base)**

"We're here.." Fang said with a yawn. "Dumb and dumber should be here soon.."

"I spy with my litt-"

"VANILLE!" Everyone shouted in unison, all finally snapping after two hours.

"There here.." Vincent pointed to the sky.

"Okay everyone, let's get out of this truck." The huntress said as she opened the door and jumped out onto the broken concrete runway.

The group waited on the edge of the runway as the ancient looking plane bounced across the pothole covered strip of concrete barely managing to stop at the edge. Reno gave the group a thumbs up from the cockpit, as the side door opened. The blonde haired turk, Elena booted out the ladder and waved her arms to signal them to hurry up. The team of seven ran to the plane and climbed on board one by one. Reno had the plane turned around before Elena had the door shut and moments later they were in the air and on the way home.

After a long flight that consisted solely of sleeping, the plane began it's decent as Reno picked one of the widest country roads that lead into Claire's home town. He announced their arrival over the speakers, rousing the group from their slumber. It took a while for his words to sink in but once they had she leaped up from her seat next to Cloud and ran into the cockpit.

"There isn't a runway near my town Reno. What are you doing!?" Claire said.

"No but there's a road there.." Reno pointed.

"There are cars on the road!" Claire shouted.

"I'm sure they'll move when they see a plane coming." The red haired turk grinned as he sent the plane into a shallow dive and lined it up with the road below.

"If we don't all die in a plane crash I'm gonna kill you Reno!" The pink haired woman shouted as she held on tightly.

Reno turned the plane's light's on and descended closer and closer to the ground. Startled drivers slammed on their brakes as they saw the aircraft fly over their heads with the landing gear almost scraping on one of the cars roof's. The huge rubber wheels touched down on the road, screeching as Reno applied the brakes, eventually coming to a stop on the edge of town.

"You could have killed us all you idiot!" Claire roared as Cloud and Fang entered the cockpit to find out what was going on.

"Ahh but I didn't." Reno grinned, causing Rude to smirk and Claire to lunge at him.

Fang grabbed her pink haired friend around the waist and struggled to pull the mako enhanced woman off the irritating turk. Cloud debated letting Claire beat his former enemy up but decided to help the brunette drag her away instead.

"Hey.." The blonde said softly, catching her attention. "I don't care how we got here.. We're here now.. Let's go home.." He smiled.

The group departed from the plane and walked down the quiet street together until one by one they said their goodbye's and entered their own houses.

"Where's the nearest hotel?" Fang said, not wanting to get on another plane to their home across the country.

"You may stay with me.." Vincent said, causing Fang's emerald eyes to light up. "But I like silence.." He added, looking at the bubbly red head.

Vincent walked down the street with Fang and Vanille following in his wake after saying their goodbye's to Cloud, Claire and Tifa. The silent walk ended as the trio reached the cloaked man's home. He opened the door and stood back, gesturing them to enter. Fang looked around at the minimalistic living room as she walked inside. The room had an old fashioned look to it with most of it's furniture made from dark mahogany. There was one small, black leather sofa and no TV in sight. Instead, a large bookcase dominated the room, taking up an entire wall. The only other notable feature being a potted white orchid that stood in the opposite corner, brightening the room and filling it with a gentle fragrance.

"You don't have a TV?" Vanille asked in shock.

"I prefer to read.." Vincent replied, pointing to the bookcase. "You will have to share a room.." He informed them as he lead them upstairs.

"This house is huge. You don't have loads of bedrooms?" Fang asked.

"I don't like guests..." The dark haired man said in his gravelly voice. "In here."

"I feel honored." Fang joked as her and Vanille entered the bedroom.

The bedroom, like downstairs was just as plain but much brighter. Other than a thick gray carpet everything was white; from the walls to the bedding. Fang walked over to the large window that overlooked the rear of the property and couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. Splashes of reds and yellows contrasted beautifully with the purples and blues that separated them in a rainbow of flowers. A stone path ran between the mass of beautiful plants and lead to a large pond that had a small waterfall flowing into it from a set of well arranged rocks and pieces of slate. Fang opened the window and heard the faint trickle of the waterfall hitting the pond, breaking up it's placid surface.

"Vincent... It's.. beautiful.." Fang said as the scent of lavender and mint filled took over her senses.

"Thank you.. I'll be downstairs.." He said, turning to leave.

"Why is your bedroom downstairs?" Vanille pried.

"This is my bedroom.." Vincent answered before shutting the door, disappearing from view.

"Well I wasn't expecting that.." Vanille said as she looked out o the window.

"Vincent Valentine.. You are a mystery to me..." The bronze skinned beauty mumbled to herself. "Alright you.. go to sleep."

Downstairs, Vincent removed his Clawed gauntlet and placed it on the arm of the sofa and pulled out a laptop from a drawer in the mahogany coffee table. He opened it and logged in before walking through the house to the kitchen at the rear. He turned on his coffee machine and took a mug from one of the cupboards, placing it underneath the machine before it dispensed his coffee. While he waited for his coffee, Vincent searched a different cupboard, pulling out a small box before walking to the sliding patio doors with it. He slid the glass doors open and stepped out into the garden, allowing the gentle breeze to cast his long black fringe to one side. Pacing down the stone path, Vincent stopped at the pond and opened the lid on the box and withdrew a handful of it's contents, casting them into the pond. Large koi carp raced to the surface in flashes of silver and orange as they feasted on the pellets as the caped man watched them briefly.

Fang watched him with avid curiosity from the bedroom window. She could see right through everyone she had ever met within seconds but the man she gazed at was an enigma to her. He was cold and distant and hardly ever spoke, yet at the same time he cared greatly for life and nature in general. The man was clearly wise and calculated, only doing or saying something after giving it careful thought; much unlike herself that was wild and reckless. _I wonder if you want some company..._

Placing her spear in the corner and removing her sandals, the huntress headed down the stairs silently. She walked through the living room, where the only source of light came from a laptop screen. Curiosity taking the better of her, Fang took a look at the laptop to find documents labeled 'Chaos research' by Dr. Crescent. She only took a brief look but the mention of demons and mako was sinister to say the least. Puzzled as to why he would be looking at something so dark and inhumane she turned to make her way to the garden, only to be met with Vincent's crimson eyes stood right behind her.

"What are you doing?" Vincent asked as soon as she turned, causing her to jump out of her skin.

"I er.. I wanted to see your garden.. The light caught my eye. I'm sorry.." Fang replied, burying her eyed into the floor.

Vincent walked past her and closed the laptop, sending the room into darkness. Brushing past the huntress once more he turned on the light and walked into the kitchen to retrieve the mug of black coffee that was waiting for him. Fang looked up, wondering where the cloaked man had gone, receiving her answer as he reentered the room with a single mug.

"Black, no sugar.." He said, offering it to the brunette.

"Thanks. How did you know?" Fang asked, her emerald eyes peering into his.

"I am observant.." Vincent replied. "sit."

"So.. You like flowers.. I never expected that." Fang said as she took a seat on the sofa that sent goosebumps across her body as it made contact with the cold leather.

"Nature in general.. I've spent my life watching science go beyond the laws of nature and corrupt men.." Vincent answered.

"You mean Cloud?.. And Claire?" The brunette asked.

"They are a light in an otherwise dark and twisted fate.."

"You seem to know a lot on the subject." Fang implied, pointing to the mass of biology books that filled the bookcase. "A former scientist?"

_Science project..._ "No, I was a Turk." Vincent answered, receiving an amazed look from Fang.

"You were the same as that idiot, Reno? I don't think I could picture you in a suit." She grinned as she looked him up and down.

"It was a lifetime ago.." He said, remembering the day his simple life was turned upside down with a bullet.

"You're not old enough to say a lifetime ago." Fang laughed, guessing him to be thirty at the most.

"Hmph." Vincent scoffed. "Drink your coffee and get some sleep.."

Realizing this was the former turks subtle way of telling her he was done talking, she downed the mug of coffee gratefully and rose to her feet, smiling as she caught Vincent's crimson eyes inspecting her. Fang walked over to the man who had remained on his feet for the entirety of their conversation and stopped within inches of him.

"Ya'know.. You really shouldn't let the past prevent you from having a future.." She whispered as she watched his blood red eyes flicker, confirming her deductions. "Your eyes told me.. Not your friends." She added, watching his mind race as to how she knew.

"How very perceptive.." Vincent said softly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"When you've sorted out your demons I'll stand in front of you like this again and we'll see what happens.." The bronze skinned beauty said seductively as she got so close the tip of her nose brushed against his and she could hear his already erratic heartbeat increase..

"How do you know that I do not have less... orthodox.. desires?" He asked, ashamed at how well he was being read.

"Because you're blushing mister Valentine." She smiled before turning on her heels and walking back up the stairs, knowing that his eyes never left her until she had disappeared out of sight.

**(Claire/Cloud household)**

After a surprisingly warm goodbye between Tifa and Claire, Cloud and the pinkette finally made it home. A short argument with the lock on the front door later and the pair where inside and could already hear their bed calling them. Denzel had done his job impeccably in looking after Duke; tiring him out so much that he did not wake at the sound of the front door. The pair made their way into the bedroom and began to get undressed out of the cold, damp clothes and slid into bed. On their bedside table, Cloud's phone lay untouched for days. He had no idea what made him do it but the blonde picked up his phone and unlocked it to find a text message waiting for him.

**From: Unknown**

**Subject: Safe and sound**

I hope you got home safe. I took a good beating from Genesis; he's much stronger than me but I got out of there once I thought you had enough of a head start. I hope that woman with the pink hair is as honorable as our friend. That sword deserves to maintain its legacy of serving a hero. Stay out of trouble.

**A/N: Nothing major in this short chapter, just a bit of Cid being his usual bossy self and a Fang x Vincent moment.. It's so hard to do without making it really ooc! After watching advent children and playing dirge of Cerberus I can't see him doing anything else other than living forever alone as a miserable git!. But... and its a big but.. I shall make it work, slowly but surely. Let me know what you think. Anything you like/ dislike or would like to see, just let me know and i'll do my best.**

**Reviewer answer time... I purposefully made the mako infused men relatively weak because they were initial tests and are basically zombie soldiers (all the strength but their mind is barely functional) I also did this because later in the story they will have to fight Disciple soldiers that will be like a soldier member, thus posing a huge problem for our hero's. I'm glad Cloud using sephiroth's lines with genesis went down well. It was not intentional on cloud's part but relevant when you find out what genesis is up to. Noel is currently living in peace with Yeul, leading the quiet life but when things go from bad to worse you never know ;) Also none of you have guessed the mystery man but I may have given it away in this chapter so keep guessing. Thanks for reading and if you could spare a minute please let me know what you think :D**


	8. Chapter 8

Claire woke from her peaceful slumber in the early hours of the morning. Her bright blue eyes focused quicker than usual and she soon had a clear view of that which she would do anything for. She watched the blonde sleep, running her fingers through his hair softly, enjoying the fact that he was close enough to touch. Claire felt her eyelids become heavy and begin to close when a nauseous feeling came over her. Quickly, she bolted from the bed and ran to the bathroom, just making it in time as the vomit spilled from her mouth. No sooner had it started was it over, leaving the pinkette to think back to the last time she was sick. _I was 15 the last time.. _

Claire ran the cold water tap and stuck her head under it, rinsing out her mouth. Cloud, who had managed to enter the bathroom unnoticed, placed his hand on her lower back, causing her to jump. The mako eyed man rubbed her back as she remained lent over the sink.

"Thanks.." She said warmly. "Is it the mako doing this?"

"It could be.. I'll take you to see Rufus today. I need a word with him anyway..." Cloud answered, his tone becoming more serious.

"You can't blame him. I did threaten to cut his head off." Claire laughed as she stood up straight.

"I told him the same. He must be more terrified of you." Cloud said almost disappointed.

"So he should be." She winked. "I feel okay now. I want to go see my sister today.. feels like I've been neglecting her a bit."

"Fine.. but if you get any worse I'll drag you there myself." The blonde said.

"You can certainly try." The pinkette said playfully.

**(Vincent's house)**

Fang removed Vanille's arm from her face and climbed out of bed as soon as the sunlight touched her tanned skin. She walked over to the still open window and took in a deep breath, taking in the floral fragrances from the garden below. After a quick stretch, her mind turned to the dark and mysterious man downstairs and their conversation last night. Without a second's hesitation, the huntress made her decision to see the man that intrigued her so.

"Hey.. Wait for me.." Vanille yawned, still in her bed.

"Come on, lazy bones." Fang sighed as she watched her best friend slowly roll out of bed.

The two women made their way downstairs, noticing immediately that Vincent was not there. Vanille flicked the light switch, confirming his absence and Fang's eyes became drawn to the lit laptop screen once more. Looking around the room first, she walked over to the laptop and laughed as soon as her eyes read what was on the screen.

_Breakfast is in the kitchen... What is your obsession with my laptop?.._

"Whats so funny?" Vanille asked.

"Nothing.." She smiled widely. "Come on, breakfast awaits."

Fang lead her red haired friend into the kitchen where an assortment of food sat on the hot plate to keep them warm. Vanille's eyes lit up at the sight of fresh toast, pancakes and orange juice that lined the marble kitchen surface. A single poppy sat in a thin glass vase, its red petals reminding The huntress of Vincent's strange attire.

"So... How did your... Little chat go?" Vanille asked between bites.

"Quite well actually. He even managed to string an entire sentence together." The brunette replied.

"Ooo! Can I be your bridesmaid?!" The bubbly red head asked, only half joking.

"How did you get from him speaking to marriage?" Fang laughed.

"Ifrit is red, Shiva is blue.. If Vincent was a summon, Fang would summon you!" Vanille teased, causing the highly composed warrior to blush.

"Knock it off!" Fang shouted in embarrassment. "If you dare sing that in front of him, you'll never know what hit you."

"I've got a pretty good idea what would hit me." Vanille laughed, pulling her tongue at her would be older sister.

**(Yuffie's mine)**

Vincent reached the edge of the grassy planes where Cloud and Claire courageously defended the planet from Jenova and where the lifestream first touched the soil of this new world. Aeris' trademark flowers now spread their wild beauty across the previously plain green fields, filling the land with a floral aroma. On the edge of the fields was a hole that was made my nature but enlarged by an excitable young ninja who's search for materia had lead her to an underground cavern that promised her untold riches. The former turk ignored the many warning signs; varying from 'do not enter' to 'beware landmines' Yuffie had placed there to deter others from discovering her cave of gems but tread carefully anyway.

Vincent had came here often since winding up on this new world, never taking so much as a grain of sand despite Yuffie giving him full permission to take what he wanted. Instead, he sat peacefully, enjoying the silence of the beautiful place. The cavern was a thing of beauty by anyone's standards. Although below ground and out of the way of any direct light; what little sunlight did enter was refracted of the walls of ruby, sapphire and emerald, bathing the cave in a colourful glow. In the center of the cave stood a diamond pillar that splintered out from the ground until it met the roof of the cave, supporting its weight. He was unsure why Yuffie had left the most valuable gem in the cave in there. Perhaps because of it's lack of colour she thought it to be worth less than the rest or that she knew it kept the roof from collapsing. Either way, the former turk was glad that it remained because of it's likeness to Lucrecia's cave.

"I thought my sins would be forgiven in death, yet I still breath..." Vincent whispered to the diamond pillar, knowing in his heart Lucrecia was not actually there. "I loved you so... And the price I paid for my love was immortality.. a cursed gift.."

The dark haired man rose to his feet in the humid cave and flicked his torn cape behind his back as he approached the clear crystal. He placed his hands on it's surface before bowing his head, resting it on its smooth face. He didn't know why, but Vincent's mind raced about what he wanted to say, either to himself or to the woman that was now truly gone forever.

"Am I to be punished for my sins with this unwanted gift forever?.. Unable to form attachments through the fear of watching them wither and die before my eyes?.."

"The gift every man wants is a curse to the pure of heart.." Yuffie said softly as she overheard him.

"Words I did not expect to leave your mouth, Yuffie." He said, trying not to show his surprise at her presence.

"Nanaki is on the council that helps Hope make decisions. I go with him sometimes, so I guess some of his wise words are rubbing off on me." She laughed. "You know she isn't there... right?" The young ninja added, trying not to sound cold.

"I know.. It's easier to pretend I'm telling her my problems than myself.." Vincent said honestly.

"You might not like being alive forever but you can't love the dead either. I'd give up every gem in this cave to see you happy Vincent.. Well, most of them anyway." Yuffie said, achieving a quick smirk from her friend. "Once you stop wallowing in the past happiness will find you."

"Perhaps.." Vincent mumbled in his deep voice that echoed in the cave. "Thank you, Yuffie.." He finished before making his way out of the cave.

**(7th Heaven)**

Cloud pulled up outside Tifa's famous bar and restaurant, Seventh Heaven after a short ride on Fenrir with Claire sat behind him. Claire jumped off first, noticing her sisters car was already parked and waited for Cloud to turn off the bike before going in together. She walked through the busy bar, noticing nearly everyone they passed gave Cloud a nod or a smile as they made their way to her sister who was sat with Snow in the corner.

"Hey! You made it!" Serah smiled as her sister came into view.

"Hey, Serah." The older Farron smiled back as she took a seat across the table. "How are you feeling?"

"Great. Morning sickness sucks but it's a small price to pay." The younger Farron answered, rubbing her stomach. "Oh, look at this!" She beamed as she pulled out a picture from her handbag and handed it to her sister.

"...What is it?.." Claire asked as she rotated the small photograph, trying to make sense of it.

"The baby." Snow laughed. "It took me a while to figure out what's what too sis."

"I'm still not your sister, Snow." Claire reminded him.

Tifa walked through the mass of full tables to the group with a plate full of brownies in her hand. She watched the group as she neared and laughed as Claire noticed her new favorite food, stopping her conversation mid sentence.

"As promised." Tifa grinned, placing the plate of chocolate chip brownies in front of the older pinkette.

"Thanks, Tifa." Claire said warmly. "Do you need any help?" She added, noting how busy the bar was.

"I'm good thanks, I've got Barret and my two little helpers with me today." The brunette said before returning back to the bar.

"Actually.. Can I borrow Barret for a while?" Cloud asked.

"Er... Yeah sure.." Tifa answered as she scanned his eyes for the reason.

"Do you mind?" The blonde asked as he looked at Claire.

"Not at all. I'm gonna spend the day with my sister." Claire said with a smile.

"Thanks. I'll see you later." He said as he kissed her on the forehead and stood up. "Bye, guys."

Cloud walked across the bar to Barret and told him he was relieved of his washing up duties if he did him a favor to which the former Avalanche leader accepted instantly. The pair darted outside and walked passed Fenrir and over to Barret's truck.

"What's up spikey?" Barret asked as the pair sat in his truck.

"I want you to take me to the next town." He asked.

"Do I look like a damn taxi service?" The gun armed man shouted.

"I'm buying something for Claire and I can't take it home if I'm on Fenrir." Cloud explained. "You could always go back to washing dishes.."

"Put your seat belt on smart ass.."

**(Vincent's house)**

Fang sat on the edge of the pond in Vincent's garden watching the fish swim around peacefully as her mind wandered. Her plan was to return to the military base, but after Vanille received a phone call from Yuffie, inviting her to her gem stone mine, she was left with nothing to do but wait for her to return. After an hour of relaxing in the sun, and cleaning up the kitchen after the mess breakfast made, the huntress made her way back upstairs and entered the bathroom.

The bathroom had a large freestanding tub in the center of the room that looked like it had never seen water. The floor was tiled in black with white walls and in the corner a glass walk in shower. A small glass cabinet contained a variety of toiletries and to its side stood a heated towel rail that had a large, red towel folded neatly on it. Hoping Vincent wouldn't mind and with no idea when he would be back, Fang began to run the bath, filling the room with steam quickly. She searched the transparent cabinet for bubble bath and poured half of the bottle into the hot water, watching it produce a layer of thick, white bubbles.

As she waited for the bath to fill, Fang removed her tanned leather belt which held her blue sari that dropped to the floor around her. Finally, she removed her sandals and underwear before stepping out of the pile of clothes at her feet and into the bath, turning off the taps before she sat down. The hot water soothed the aches nearly two days in the sub zero wilderness had inflicted on her body and for the first time in days she had time to herself without the worries of life. Throwing her wild brunette hair over the edge of the tub, Fang rested her head on the edge and closed her eyes.

Vincent walked up the path to his house and gripped the handle of the front door and paused, imagining the state the duo had left it in. Taking a deep breath he entered to find neither of them had burnt his house down and everything seemed to be where he left it. He entered the kitchen to find the plates had been washed that he made their breakfast on and concluded that they must have left to return home. Putting the bronzed skinned woman out of his mind, despite her apparent absence was however proving difficult. She could not be any more different from himself. She was care free and loud with a wild and untamed nature. Yet for the majority of the day his thoughts always wandered back to the brunette. _It is not to be..._

Vincent paced up the stairs and entered his bedroom. His bed was the only thing that remained unmade; the only sign of the brunette's presence in his home. The former turk pulled out his weapon of choice; the triple barreled pistol called Cerberus and threw it onto the bed. After spending time in the dusty, humid gemstone mine, Vincent walked out of his room and over to the bathroom to take a shower. He pushed the door open and took a step before he noticed the bronze skinned beauty stood with her back to him, trying her hair with the only towel in the room. His crimson eyes widened as they took in her damp, naked body, all within a heartbeat before he turned away as Fang heard the noise of the door.

Fang never turned her body, but instead looked over her shoulder at the man who's face was now as crimson as his bandanna. While the situation was mildly embarrassing for her, she couldn't help but smile at just how uncomfortable it made Vincent. Sparing him of his red cheeks, Fang took the towel and wrapped it around her body, covering only her intimacy.

"Don't pretend you didn't have a peak." Fang teased.

"I did not realize you were still here.." Vincent said with his eyes still firmly fixed to the floor as he listened to her wet feet pace steadily towards him from across the bathroom.

"Looks like you've been out in the sun Vincent. Your face is all red." She grinned as she peered over his shoulder.

Vincent went to walk away but the brunette grabbed his arm and spun him around on the spot before planting a firm and passionate kiss on his ivory lips. He kissed her back until her lips departed from his and they both looked into each others eyes. Fang's eyes were a beautiful shade of emerald green that contrasted with her tanned skin, making the former turk even more drawn to them. It was only when he saw his own reflection in her eyes did he fear that she could see the demon inside of him. His heart began to race and he could feel the demon inside of him wanting to break free as his emotions ran wild.

"..I..." Was all Vincent could manage before he turned from the beautiful brunette and left he house.

"Charmin'." Fang huffed as she watched him dissapear.

**(Barret's Truck, Next Town.)**

"Okay, we're here. What shop are you looking for?" Barret asked.

"That one.." The blonde answered, pointing to a small motorcycle shop across the street.

"Er... You realized you need money to buy shit like that?" The dark skinned man said.

"I'm hoping a piece of this will do." Cloud replied, pulling out the emerald cluster Yuffie gave him for his birthday.

"You can only ask I suppose.."

Barret parked the truck up in the car park and the pair entered the showroom. A young blonde woman in a tailored and undoubtedly expensive suit watched them enter and examined the two rough looking men carefully, guessing their bank balances and mentally deciding not to bother to asking them if they needed help.

"You even know what your looking for? This ain't Shinra tech yano." Barret asked as they walked between the mass of motorcycles that where lined up neatly in rows.

"Not a clue..." Cloud replied honestly. "I'll go ask."

Cloud marched over to the saleswoman that sat on her desk, typing away on her computer. She only looked up when Cloud's shadow bathed her keyboard in darkness and she could feel his eyes burn into her.

"Yes?.." She said in a disinterested tone until she looked up at the man and noticed his glowing eyes.

"Whats the fastest bike you sell?" The blonde asked as he read the woman's name badge as she surveyed him closely. _Jane._

"The S1000rr Is the fastest bike we sell but I fear it is a little expensive for most... Sir.." The blonde woman said, implying that he would not be able to afford it's 80,000 Gil price tag.

Without saying a word, Cloud stuck his hand in his pocket and snapped off a piece from the emerald cluster and placed it on the table in front of her. He watched the saleswoman's eyes light up as she calculated it's worth in her mind to be well over the 80,000 Gil required for the bike. Being a woman who enjoyed the finer things in life, she quickly determined the green stone was real and stood from her desk, leading them both to the bike in question.

"This is it sir. A limited edition spec with Carbon fiber panels, wheels and swing arm; making it one of the lightest bikes currently available. It has 224bhp and a top speed of 230mph." The saleswoman explained.

"You think she'll like it?" The blonde asked barret.

"How the hell do I know! If Lightning is as nutty as you then she will." His muscular friend laughed.

"Lightning?! Then you must be... I can't take this." The blonde sales woman said as she thrust her hand out, offering the emerald back to him.

Cloud placed his hand under hers and folded her fingers back over the gem. While Claire's fame seemed to get her everything, Cloud had no desire to take the most expensive motorcycle from the woman without payment.

"Your business won't last long if you give bikes away for free.." Cloud said as he received a faint smile from the woman who now seemed like a pleasant individual.

"Thank you, Sir." Jane smiled.

"Cloud.. Sir is for old people and army officers." The humble man told her. "Could we take the bike now?"

"Of course. I'll go fill it with fuel and sort out the paperwork. Take a seat and I'll be back shortly." Jane said, motioning to the chairs across the room.

Cloud and Barret sat on the Chairs in the waiting area as they watched the saleswoman wheel the bike from the line and into a workshop at the back of the showroom. After five minutes she returned with the bike and pushed it outside next to Barret's stuck.

"Check you out. Talking to strangers and everything." Barret joked whole the pair waited for the woman to return. "Lightning really has done a number on you."

"Being with her has gave me a different outlook on life.. She taught me that some things just happen and it isn't anyone's fault.." Cloud explained.

"Tifa's been tryin' that for years!" Barret laughed.

"I guess Claire is more stubborn than me. She wouldn't let it go.. Kinda feel bad for how I've treated Tifa now..

"And the miserable bastard has returned." The gun armed man laughed.

Before Cloud could defend himself from his friend's dig's, the saleswoman popped her head through the door and waved them outside so see the bike so the duo ended their bickering and left the showroom. The mako eyed man examined the bike closely, noting just how good it looked in the light. The polished carbon fiber bodywork reflected the sun and contrasted perfectly against the matte black frame. Jane held the key up to the blonde who took it gratefully, eager to start the bike up.

"Sign here please." The woman said as she handed the blonde a clip board with some paperwork on.

The blonde signed the pages without reading them and walked over to the bike with a smile that grew wider as he threw his leg over it. He placed the key in the ignition barrel and turned it clockwise until it clicked into place. With the clutch held in, Cloud hit the engine start button, firing the bike into life. The bike had a meaty roar that was louder than Fenrir and he was almost sad that he was going to give it away.

"Thanks." Cloud said to Jane who gave him a wide smile. "Race you back?" He grinned to Barret who sprinted to his truck as Cloud launched the bike out of the car park, lifting the front wheel up with the power it had.

**(7th Heaven)**

"You're over thinking things, sis." Serah said.

"He doesn't seem the same since I got him back though.." Claire sighed. "I thought he'd want to stay with me but he's just gone off somewhere with Barret.."

"I thought it was Serah who should be all hormonal and stroppy?" Snow said before flinching on instinct.

"Hey!" The two Farron sister's shouted in unison.

"Was just sayin'... He doesn't have to be attached to your hip 24/7.." Snow mumbled.

Claire began to roar at Snow when she was drowned out by the roar of an engine outside. Everyone in the bar turned their heads to look out of the window to find Cloud Strife parking a black motorcycle next to his own. Claire ran outside to find out what he was doing as Serah and Snow chased after her in excitement.

"Where did you get that?" Claire asked as Cloud turned the engine off and put the bike on it's stand.

"A bike shop." The blonde smirked, knowing exactly what she meant.

"But you have a bike." The pinkette said. "Don't you like it any more?..."

"This is your bike. As your last one had a close encounter with a helicopter. I thought we could do something together.. Just the two of us."Cloud explained as he handed her the key.

"Told you." Serah said, nudging her sister in the arm.

All doubt's Claire had in her mind had vanished when she had realized what Cloud had done. She had spent all night and day worrying over if he would leave her after seeing her mako infused eyes but everything made sense now and she accepted that she was overreacting. _Why am I so paranoid?.._

"EVERYONE INSIDE! NOW!" Denzel shouted.

"What's up?" Claire asked as she looked at the horror on his face.

"The TV!"

The group sprinted inside the bar and looked at the television that hung from the wall. Everyone inside the bar sat in silence and stared at the screen that displayed an orange symbol that resembled an eye; the logo of the Disciples.

_The time has come for the sinners of this world to repent. Holy judgment shall come to all of those who harbor the demon Lightning. Our righteous wrath shall burn your world to the ground, creating a blank canvas for Bhunivelze to sculpt in his image. All those who wish to walk in God's divine light should stand with us.. Hallowed are the Disciples, the children of God._

An eery silence took over the bar that was broken by Barret who had finally walked through the door after failing to keep up with the blonde.

"You ride like a maniac!" Barret shouted, instantly noticing just how silent the bar full of people was. "What?..."

**A/N: Not a lot of action today i'm afraid but as you might have guessed there is some on the horizon. Now... Announcements time... First off my wonderful guest reviewer (I'm assuming your the same person each time. You REALLY need an account!) has guessed the identity of our mystery man correctly. It was indeed Kunsel. A really overlooked character who was probably more of a friend with Zack than Cloud ever was. Inspiration came from a story called 'Dear Kunsel' by Sinnatious (Very cool one chapter story.) Anyway, moving on... I planned on having another bike chase/battle as it went down well in the first story and SonicRainDOOM has suggested it to me too hence I have pushed it forward and Cloud has just gone bike shopping lol. Fang and Vincent's kiss... Not right? OOC? Can't decide for myself yet but it's there now. It's not going to be like LightxCloud in the sense that they kissed and went from there. It's gonna be more 'turbulent' and story filled. I really need to stop rambling in these things... Okay, if you like it leave a review and if you hate it, leave a review anyway :P**


	9. Chapter 9

"You ride like a maniac!" Barret shouted, instantly noticing just how silent the bar full of people was. "What?..."

Barret watched as everyone stood up from their tables and walked silently to Claire and Cloud, surrounding them. Although he had no idea what, he knew something was wrong when he watched Claire search for the blonde's hand without taking her eyes off the advancing crowd. The majority of the customers that now surrounded Claire where from Edge and had no previous connection with her, making the pinkette even more nervous. The oldest man in the room stepped through the crowd and stood before Claire. He raised his withered arm and placed it on her shoulder as he supported himself on a walking cane with his other.

"We stand together." The silver haired man said softly as the rest of the crowd that surrounded Claire placed a hand on her shoulder.

Claire stood speechless as the people of the town were willing to support her after such a grave threat. She was almost convinced she would be fighting her way out of the bar and going on the run. The former savior turned to Cloud who gave her a reassuring nod as he looked at her relieved face. The blonde's phone beeped to indicate he had a text message so he pulled the phone from his pocket and read it.

**From: Unknown**

**Subject: The News**

If you haven't seen the news I suggest you watch it. I did a little reconnaissance before I left this hell hole, labs are springing up everywhere and Disciple soldiers are putting their name down for 'The Demi God Project'. They must be getting close to making Soldier members. On a brighter note. It looks like they are having a real problem with a warrior tribe on the west border of their continent. The enemy of my enemy is my friend remember.

"What's the plan?" Cloud asked once he pocketed his phone again.

"We fight.."

**(Yuffie's Cave)**

"So, what do you plan on doing with all of your money?" Vanille asked as she scooped up the rubies that Yuffie chipped away at with her pick axe.

"I honestly don't know.. I've never really had money before. Shinra's war with us meant all of our money went on fighting them." Yuffie answered between swings.

"Are you any closer to finding your father?" The bubbly red head asked.

"No.."

"Not to worry!" Vanille smiled. "You'll find him.. Sooo... What do you think Fang and Vincent are up to?" She asked with a mischievous look, feeling a subject change was needed.

"I think she's fighting a loosing battle there." Yuffie laughed.

"I hope not. Fang doesn't take loosing well.." She sighed. "Do you not like him?"

"Eww, not in that way! He's like my dad! He does look after me though.."

"Well who then?" Vanille pried, not willing for her question to go unanswered.

"The blonde idiot.." The Wutaian blushed.

"Cloud?!" Vanille laughed. "Don't let Light find out about that!" She teased.

"It's not funn- Vincent?" Yuffie stopped mid sentence as she watched her red caped friend stumble into the cave, dragging his body across the wall as he walked. "Vincent!"

"..Get... Out of.. Here..." Vincent strained as he clutched his chest.

Ignoring his demand, the young ninja knelt by her friend and placed a comforting had on his back. She had seen this before but not since Omega was beaten by Vincent. The former turk had developed a near perfect control of Chaos even when anger had built up inside him which is what worried Yuffie the most. This was different.

"Yuffie... Please..." Vincent practically begged between breaths.

The young brunette remained hesitant to leave her friend but as she watched his crimson eyes flicker yellow she knew she had to leave. Swiping the basket of gems from Vanille's hand and throwing them to the ground, Yuffie dragged her out of the cave and broke into a sprint across the grassy planes.

"We can't just leave him!" Vanille shouted as she ran after Yuffie.

"Just keep running!"

Back inside the cavern, Vincent crawled over to the diamond pillar and used it to drag himself back onto his feet. He watched his own reflection in its surface flicker between himself and Chaos as the demon inside fought for freedom, slowly but surely winning the battle.

"Am I to remain... An emotionless shell... Of a man.. to keep you... at bay?..." Vincent asked his reflection as he realized why the demon was resisting him. _I can't keep you at bay whilst I let her in..._

As the battle between Chaos and himself waged on he began to hallucinate. Two small emeralds imbedded on the other side of the cavern that could be seen through the diamond pillar turned to an image of Fang instead of his own reflection. As soon as his eyes fell on her own emerald orbs he could feel Chaos taking control._Enough!__..._ He thought to himself as he blinked his eyes causing the image to disappear and be replaced with one of Lucrecia, withering the last thread of control he had over the demon. Realizing the untold devastation Chaos could inflict, Vincent used it's own powers against it, striking the diamond pillar as he let out a demonic roar, shattering it and collapsing the cave.

The ground shook in violent temper, causing Yuffie and Vanille to stop running as they turned to find dust rising from the now sealed up cavern. Yuffie, being the faster of the two sprinted back towards where the cave once was in the hope that her reluctant friend wasn't trapped under the rubble.

"Phone for help!" The young ninja shouted as she got on her hands and knee's and began to shift the rubble.

"Who?" The red head asked as she pulled out her phone.

"Anyone! Everyone!"

"Fang! I need you to come to the mine. Something's wrong with Vincent! What do you mean you don't care?! The cave has collapsed on him! Okay see you soon.." Vanille hung up and searched for another phone contact. "Cloud! Bring everyone to Yuffie's mine! It's collapsed on Vincent! Okay, bye."

"Vincent!" The young brunette shouted, praying for a clue as to where he was.

"Everyone's on their way." Vanille said as she began to shift the rubble with her friend.

Yuffie was exhausted by time the rest of the group got to the mine. Blood ran from her fingers as she dug deeper and deeper still without a sign of Vincent. Claire knelt by the young ninja and dug by her side as the rest spread out only to find her being dragged to her feet by Cloud.

"You need to stop Yuffie.. Look at your hands.." The blonde said as her looked over her cut and blistered palms. "Come with me.." Cloud took the Wutaian reluctantly from the dig site where they would not be overheard. "Explain.."

"It was Chaos.. I saw it in his eyes. I could see him loosing it." Yuffie explained. "I thought he had control over it.."

"He does normally.. Something must have happened that's allowed the demon to find a way around the protomateria.." The cerulean eyed man told her before pulling out a cure materia and healing her damaged hands. "Take a breather."

Another hour passed and the group's hope of finding him alive dwindled. Everyone but Fang was talking amongst themselves as they shifted the rubble and soon enough everyone noticed the wild haired huntress had not made a sound or lifted her head once. In the end it was Barret who went to see how she was doing when he watched a tear fall from her eye and onto the dry earth below, darkening it as the ground absorbed it's moisture.

"You Alright?" Barret whispered to her.

"Fine." She sniffed, not wishing to engage in conversation.

"We'll find him. Cuz we ain't stoppin' till we do." He said cheerfully.

"Over here!" Claire shouted as her eyes found the tattered end of his scarlet cape.

Everyone converged on Claire and began to wildly scoop the soil and debris away, slowly revealing a golden gauntlet, then an arm before almost all of his body was free from the earth. Pushing everyone out of the way, a teary eyed Fang brushed the dust off his face and rubbed his cheeks that felt cold to the touch. The guilt began to build inside as she realized he wasn't breathing so she placed her ear on his chest, hearing an erratic heartbeat.

"Tseng I need a chopper here asap. It's Vincent.. Yeah.. I don't know why the protomateria isn't working.. Tell no one.."

Fang and Claire looked up at Cloud, both deeply curious as to what was going on. Claire looked around at the rest of Vincent's friends, noticing their level of concern didn't seem to match the situation and then to Cloud was not willing to divulge anything on the matter.

"He'll be fine.. Reno's on the way with a helicopter." Cloud said, noticing Claire roll her eyes at the mention of the red haired turk.

"What aren't you telling me!" Fang shouted as she left Vincent's side and squared up to the blonde.

"It's not for me to say.." Cloud said calmly, not wavering at all at her emerald stare.

"He isn't breathing!" The brunette roared, still inches from Cloud's face.

"Like I said.. He'll be fine.." The blonde repeated himself, breaking what little restraint the bronze skinned beauty had.

Without warning, Fang punched Cloud in the face for his unsatisfactory answer. Claire rose to her feet to defend him but he waved her off.

"You done?" Cloud asked, not fazed by her blow.

"For now.." She answered defiantly before storming back to Vincent.

**(Medical wing, HQ)**

After a swift flight to the headquarters, Vincent was transported to a private medical center that was run solely by former WRO doctors and overseen by Rufus, who was waiting patiently for them when they arrived. Accompanying Vincent on his flight was Cloud, Claire and Fang, the latter of which was still unsure of the situation but was relieved to find the former turk had began breathing again; albeit faintly.

"Here for my head, Cloud?" Rufus asked calmly and the three were stopped by him when the doctors took Vincent in another room.

"Not today.." Cloud warned, still angry with him over allowing Claire to become like him.

"Perhaps another time then.." He said sarcastically. "Do we know why this happened?"

"No." The blonde said bluntly.

"Why what happened?" Claire asked, the mystery now bothering her as much as Fang.

"It is not for me to divulge.." Rufus replied as he received a slight shake of the head from Cloud.

"Any idea when he'll wake up?" The pinkette asked.

"It could be any minute now. Take a seat.. Cloud, if you would follow me." Rufus gestured, leading him into another room. "You are aware of the seriousness of the situation?"

"He'll be fine. He has control.." Cloud fired back, defending his friend.

"I hope so.. For everyone's sake.. He poses a great danger to us all if he can't keep the beast at bay. I take it the others are unaware of his.. condition..."

"It's not my secret to tell.." The blonde said before turning and leaving the room to rejoin the others.

Cloud returned to the waiting room just as Vincent casually paced In from another door. The look of sheer relief on Fang's face could be seen from a mile away but when the former turk walked right by her without so much as a glance her concern turned to anger as she stomped after him. Claire watched her friend clench her fist and intercepted the punch that was destined for the back of Vincent's head.

"Cloud." He nodded to the blonde as he walked past him and headed for the roof.

"That ignorant bastard! And to think I worried about you!" She roared at the now closed door. "That's it. I'm going home.."

Vincent sighed as he walked out into the cool, evening air. He felt awful inside for what he had just done to Fang but knowing the consequences of his attraction to her could release Chaos onto the world, the crimson eyed man thought it best to push her away. _If you hate me I can keep you safe._

The ride home was spent in silence, despite Sazh trying his best to fire up a conversation with the less than talkative former turk. The afro haired pilot dropped Vincent at the edge of town, leaving him with a short walk to his home, with nothing but his thoughts to keep him company. As he paced down the middle of the empty roads, the former turk thought about his situation in great detail. _When I loose my emotional restraint with Fang, your will grows stronger and my mastery over your powers diminishes. I will rid you from my body, demon... Even if it means my own demise. _

Vincent's door flew open before he had even got to his driveway, revealing Yuffie and Vanille who waited patiently for him to return. They sprinted down the short path and wrapped their arms around the scarlet eyed man's waist with the greatest of affection. Although he never mentioned it, he could tell by Vanille's face that Fang had phoned her, probably still enraged about his rudeness towards her.

"Are.. you okay?.." Fang's closest friend asked.

"I'm fine." He replied with a faint smile as he began to walk to his front door with Yuffie right behind him.

The young ninja darted past him just as he reached the door and ran in the house. Still believing in chivalry, Vincent stepped aside to allow Vanille to enter to find her still stood at the end of the drive with a lost expression on her face.

"Are you okay?.." Vincent asked.

"Yeah.. Fang told me to wait here and she'd pick me up.." She said.

"Very well.." He replied before leaving her outside and shutting the door.

Vanille took a seat on the cold stone path and crossed her legs. She truly believed Vincent would be the one to make Fang happy but it turned out he did just the opposite. Visions of him collapsing in the mine dwelled on her mind as she gazed up at the stars. As clumsy and forgetful as she is, she could read the faces of his friends that he was hiding a dark and terrible secret.

"Perhaps that's why you're so moody..." She whispered to herself.

"I have my reasons." Vincent's deep voice spoke from behind her, causing her to squeak as she flinched. The former turk sat by her side and handed her a hot mug of coco to which she accepted gratefully. "I wasn't always this way... It's... Safer... for Fang if she stays away from me.. regardless of my feelings.."

"So you DO care.. What was all that back at the cave? I thought you were having a heart attack."

"Are you afraid of me?.." Vincent asked, looking her in the eyes with his intense stare.

"No.. You're just a little weird." She smiled at him, not fazed by his stare.

"If I told you what happened to me then you would be.. Fang is here.."

Vanille looked down the road to find her friend marching down the street towards her. She turned to say goodbye to Vincent to find he had vanished, disappeared into the night like a ghost. All she could do was place the empty mug on the doorstep and walk down the road to meet Fang, who as predicted was in a less than pleasant mood.

**(7th Heaven)**

Cloud and Claire finally made it to the now closed bar where they had left their bikes. Claire threw her leg over her new bike and rummaged through her pocket for the key before starting it up for the first time, instantly putting a smile on her face.

"I remember you told me about Chaos when I first met you.. That it was inside one of your friends.. It's Vincent isn't it?" Claire said as she pieced today's events together in her head.

"Yeah.." The blonde replied.

"You think we can help him?" She asked. "We still have to deal with these Disciple's."

"I hope so.. As for the Disciple's I have an idea." Cloud said as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Cid, it's me. How's the airship coming? Great, can you meet us at the military base near Fang's in two days? Pick everyone up first... Yes even Yuffie.."

"Two days? Aren't we just flying there?" Claire asked.

"I promised you we'd do something together.. Think you can catch me?" Cloud smirked as he shot off into the night.

Claire grinned with excitement and raced after him.

**A/N: Another short chapter. Didn't want to keep you waiting to long, especially when I got one more review than usual. Not a great deal has happened (as usual, sorry) but this is the start of the action/ story twists/ surprises. Let me know what you think and as always, thanks for reading. Oh almost forgot... Serah's baby.. Girl or boy? The choice is yours, majority vote wins.**


	10. Chapter 10

It didn't take long for the pinkette to catch Cloud who had reduced his pace to a fast cruse as he rode through the town. The pair rode together until Claire veered off towards her house without warning, causing the blonde to have to spin Fenrir around in the street and chase after her.

"I thought we were going to Fang's?" Cloud asked as he pulled up on Claire's drive.

"We are. Not everywhere will take an emerald as payment." She laughed as she entered the house.

Claire walked through the house and up the LED lit stairs to her bedroom, or rather their bedroom. She walked over to a painting of Odin that Serah had painted for her and took it off the wall, revealing a safe behind it. _Right 36... left 10... right 59...right 97.. __**Click. **_Inside the safe was 50,000 gil in fifty, 1000 gil stacks, a pistol with several loaded magazines by it's side, multiple passports and her survival knife. _Hmmm..._

After weighing up what she would need, Claire took 2000 gil and stuffed it in her pocket and her pistol which she tucked into the back of her skirt, concealing it with the cloak that hung from her hip. The former guardian corps sergeant locked the safe and replaced the picture before turning her attention to the weapons in the corner. Her buster sword rested against Cloud's fusion sword and on a shelf above it sat her gunblade. She almost felt guilty for taking the two massive blades and leaving her trusty weapon behind but the heavier blade provided much greater cutting force and had materia slots. _Materia.. Can't forget that._

Cloud waited patiently outside but after a while was convinced that Claire had gone to sleep without telling him and dismounted his bike to investigate. He walked up to the house just as the garage door rose up, revealing the rose haired beauty holding a sword in each hand.

"You get lost?" Cloud joked, insinuating she had been quite some time.

"A girl's gotta be prepared." She smiled as she handed the blonde the two swords for him to stow away in the blade compartment's on his bike. "Ready?"

The blonde simply nodded and climbed back on his motorcycle, waiting for Claire to lead the way. The pair rode silently through the town until they got to the virtually empty highway and began to test the limits of Claire's new bike. The pinkette used her enhanced reflexes and strength to weave the already nimble motorcycle around the few cars that traveled the roads at this late hour as she chased the blonde, who's blistering pace came naturally to him after spending nearly three years riding his bike around the world, delivering items. After three hours of playing cat and mouse with Cloud, the pair pulled into a gas station to fill up their bikes and stretch out their stiff joints after the long ride.

"You think we can make it there in one night?" Cloud asked as he walked in circles with his mako eyes fixated on the mass of stars in the sky.

"Unlikely.." Claire said as she topped up her fuel tank. "There's a town a few hundred miles down the highway. It should have a hotel." She added, yawning at the thought of a bed.

Claire went inside to pay and returned a few minutes later with two coffees that tasted awful but were hot and full of caffeine; two welcoming attributes for the cool night ahead of them. After their drinks, the duo set off once again down the brightly lit, arrow straight highway in search of the town and a much needed nights sleep. After an hour and a half of excessive speeding the brightly lit town came into view on the horizon, just as the clear black sky began to brighten as it approached sunrise.

"One room please." Claire said to the hotel manager that looked like he was ready to fall asleep himself.

"That's 70 gil." The man said as he handed a key with a large, yellow fob to her.

"There's 100.. Don't disturb us.." She warned as she read the room number off the fob. _37._

The blonde quickly located the room and the pair went inside. It wasn't home but the room was clean and basic. All that mattered to him was that Claire would be by his side as he slept. After the buster sword and the fusion sword was propped up in the corner, the pair undressed quickly and slid into the bed, instantly feeling at ease as the days events were washed from their minds until the only thing they could think about was the person laying beside them.

"Hey.. Come here.." Claire demanded as she felt the caffeine kick in and the tiredness fade.

"Hmm?" Cloud mumbled as he turned to face her only to watch her straddle him and look down at him with her glowing cerulean eyes.

Cloud looked into Claire's eyes that seemed to sparkle as she smiled. Her pink locks dangled from her head, tickling his nose as she got closer and closer until her lips crashed against his. The blonde ran his fingers through her hair and pressed her closer to him as she bit his lip in carnal pleasure. The rose haired beauty playfully wrestled with him in the attempt to be the dominant and wrapped her legs around his waist as he attempted to sit up.

"Give in?" She teased as she squeezed her thighs around his waist.

The blonde simply smiled as he used a burst of strength to throw himself off of the bed and onto his feet, still with Claire playfully clinging to him with a devilish look in her eyes. After carrying her over to the dresser he threw his hand across it's surface, casting the untouched complimentary food across the floor, before throwing her abruptly onto it as she grinned.

"Like what you see?" Claire continued with her playful taunting.

Cloud didn't answer but put one hand underneath her slender leg and pulled her back up and onto him, using his other hand to press her body into his. The pinkette moaned and dug her fingernails into his back, causing the blonde to stumble back into the wall, cracking the mirror that hung from it. The broken glass cutting into his back didn't phase him as he slid her up and down him with his arms. The pair couldn't help but grin when the wall he had just stumbled into began to bang in annoyance of their racket.

"I think we woke them up." Cloud laughed, letting his guard down long enough for Claire to unwrap her vice grip around his waist and in a single motion throw him onto the bed. The blonde waited patiently as Claire crawled seductively from the end of the bed to him, starting her kisses from his chest and working up to his neck as she climbed back on top of him. The mako eyed man's hands wandered from her firm breasts to her naval, before settling on her hips, pulling Claire forward and back. Throwing herself forward as the pleasure built, she bit down gently on Cloud's collar bone as she climaxed, tasting the salty taste of sweat on his skin as she panted.

"I feel... Dizzy.." Claire said between breaths. "Good dizzy." She added, noticing the blonde's concern.

Cloud stroked the pinkette's hairline as she rested her head on his chest, slowly drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

The following morning, Claire was woken by the pleasant aroma of fresh coffee and toast. She opened her mako eyes that adapted to the light much better than usual and watched Cloud place the tray holding her breakfast down onto the dresser and returning to her bedside with a mug of Coffee.

"Thanks." She smiled warmly as she brushed the mess of pink away from her eyes. "Where did you get breakfast?"

"There's a cafe downstairs. Traffic looks like it's dying down a little from rush hour." The blonde said as he glanced out of the window.

"What time is it?" The pinkette asked, wondering just how long the blonde had been up for.

"10:20am."

Claire devoured her breakfast and got changed quickly to continue their long trip to Fang's. They could have got there in a few hours by plane but the ride was much more enjoyable and gave the pair time to themselves as they traveled the vast continent. Taking their swords, the duo walked back to the managers desk to return their room key.

"Enjoy your stay, miss?" The man asked as he watched her approach the desk.

"Definitely." She grinned to herself. "There's another hundred.. Sorry about the mess." The pinkette added as she handed the key and more gil to the man and left before more questions got asked.

"You think we'll be welcome back when he see's that room?" Claire asked as she climbed onto her motorcycle.

"I doubt it." The blonde smirked as he recalled moments in his head.

The pair fired their bikes up and joined the now busy highway. Instead of flying through the traffic, the couple cruised at a steady pace, enjoying the serene countryside that was cut in half by the road. Mile after mile passed effortlessly as they rode side by side until the traffic started to slow in front of them.

"An accident?" Claire said to Cloud as the cars in front bunched up to a crawl.

"Could be.." he replied, standing on his seat to see over the mass of cars. "Everyone's leaving their running towards us.."

Acting on instinct, Cloud opened the sword compartments on his bike and threw the buster sword to Claire who caught it effortlessly. The blonde took off first, slowly filtering through the parked cars and frightened people. In the distance, Cloud could see the first of the mass of cars where burning fiercely, masking the road ahead. Fire balls burst from the wall of flames right at the blonde, who dispersed them with the flat face of his sword.

"There is no hate, only joy for you are beloved by the Goddess. Hero of the dawn, healer of words.."

"Genesis!" Cloud roared as she climbed of his motorcycle. "Why are you doing this?!"

"You and that whore are the only two people on this world that contain the Sephiroth gene.. I have been tasked to protect this world and rid it from evil.. To cleanse this world I must remove you both from it.." The red coated man answered as he stepped through the flames.

"We don't want to harm the planet!" Claire shouted, now irate at the name he called her.

"That's what our great hero said before summoning meteor.. The time for words is over.." Genesis told them as he drew his scarlet rapier.

Not willing to go on the defensive, Cloud sprinted to Genesis, separating his hollow blade from the main sword and cross slashing. The auburn haired former soldier parried the main blade away from him and attempted to move his body away from the other, only for the tip of the hollow sword to slice through his coat and cut his abs. The former first class recovered quickly and sent another wave of fireballs in Cloud's direction. The blonde pivoted his body just in time for the flames to brush over his shoulder and Claire neutralized any that came her way with ice magic as she advanced on her enemy.

"You were never in Soldier, where you, whore?" He asked with a wicked smile.

"Keep smiling.. That way you'll die happy.." Claire snapped back as she ripped her sword up from behind her, slicing into the highway as she attacked.

Genesis remained cool and composed as the two slashed at stabbed at him from every angle until Claire's body began to burn with a fiery aura.

"Whats happening?" She asked in fear.

"It's a limit break. Don't fight it, just do what feels natural." Cloud advised as he leaped back from the pair, unsure what was about to happen.

Claire dodged and parried Genesis' stylish and elegant attacks as she succumbed to the build up of power that flowed through her body. As soon as her enemy took a slash and opened up his frame, Claire leaped into the air and brought the buster sword crashing down on him with god like strength. The former Soldier managed to bring his crimson rapier back in front of him to block the blow but the sheer force behind her strike was too great and the buster sword ended up imbedded into his left shoulder as his feet where pushed through the highway.

In pain but undeterred, Genesis waved his palm across his sword, causing it to glow a bright red. Cloud pulled Claire away and ran at the red coated man, throwing his sword at him like a tomahawk. Just as he had done with Claire in the VR room, Genesis swung at the sword, batting it out of the sky and made himself momentarily defenseless. Seizing the opportunity, Cloud gripped him by the throat and threw him to the ground.

"Dreams of the morrow... Hath the shattered soul... Pride is lost... Wings stripped away...The end is nigh.." He choked.

"You got that right.." Cloud said coldly as he squeezed tighter.

In a last ditched effort, Genesis used his favorite fire materia to set off an explosion between them, throwing Cloud across the highway. The blonde threw himself back onto his feet and charged in the direction of the blast, only to find the poetic soldier had vanished.

"Where did he go?" Cloud asked as his eyes scanned the highway.

"He was just there a second ago... He must have realized he couldn't beat us and ran." Claire assumed.

"Yeah.. I guess so.. Let's keep going.." The blonde said, wiping blood from his cheek.

**(Military Command Center) **

"What am I looking at Elena?" Fang asked the large screen in the command center that displayed the former turk's head.

"We believe it's a materia factory. In their efforts to make super soldiers they have realized condensing the mako results in materia. It's very crude, artificial materia but an army of soldiers with basic fire and cure magic will be devastating on the battlefield." The image of Elena explained.

"And because the lifestream is on the planet now, everyone can use it, right?" The huntress said. _Like an army of L'cie _

"I'm afraid so.."

"What's the location? I'll scramble a jet." The brunette suggested.

"You can't, the mako could amplify the blast and without knowing just how much they have it could be like setting off a hand grenade or a nuke. The only way to destroy materia safely is to dissolve it into the lifestream. I recommend you send a squad in to capture the facility." The blonde turk explained.

"I'll go myself.. I'm in the mood to kill someone at the minute.. Send me everything you have on the facility and I'll draw up a plan."

"Very well General. I'll send everything over. If you need the help of the agency, do not hesitate to ask." Elena smiled before ending the connection.

"Help from the idiot and his bald friend... No thanks.." The bronze skinned beauty mumbled to herself.

**(CIA Floor, HQ)**

Vincent marched out of the lift and across the marble floor of Rufus' new place of work in the search for the former president. Everyone stared at the cloaked man that stood out against the mass of finely groomed and suited agents as he passed them without so much as a glance; his crimson eyes fixated on Rufus Shinra's office.

"Are you looking for me, Mr Valentine?" Rufus' voice sounded from behind Vincent.

"I didn't think you left that office.." Vincent sniped as he turned to find the red haired director behind him.

"I was assisting Mr Highwind with his new airship. How can I help you Vincent?" The red head asked,

"Is the mako infusion room been dismantled yet?" The former turk questioned.

"No. Tseng has been tasked with its decommission at the end of the week.. Why?"

"I need to use it..." The dark haired man said quietly.

"I seem to remember you and Cloud tell me It should never be used.. What changed?" Rufus said, his curiosity spiking.

Vincent looked around at the spying eyes that watched their conversation and walked away from Rufus and entered his office, waiting for the man to follow so they could continue their conversation in private. Deeply intrigued, Rufus entered his office, locking it behind him before giving the former turk his full attention.

"I wish to rid myself of this... problem.." Vincent said, not wishing to use the word demon.

"And you think mako infusion will do this?" Rufus asked.

"No.. mako filtration..."

"I don't follow." The CIA director said.

"I want to push the tainted mako that contains Chaos out of my body by filtering it with pure mako, diluting it.. Once it is outside of my body we can condense it and trap the demon in materia.." Vincent explained.

"I see you've given this great thought.. I will consult with those who know more about this stuff than I and then I'll make all the necessary alterations to the equipment. It may take a few days."

"Very well..." Vincent said softly before leaving Rufus' office. _Time to seek forgiveness for my sins.._

**(Fang's house)**

The huntress drove up the long and winding driveway that lead to her house. Her car's xenon headlights lighting up the road, casting away the shadows. Not having an ounce of sleep since her less than pleasant snub by Vincent, Fang thought she was hallucinating when she saw the silhouette of two hooded figures sat on the steps leading to her front door. After coming to terms that her emerald eyes weren't deceiving her, the brunette's concern turned to the pseudo sister inside the house.

"You've got three seconds to convince me that I shouldn't pull your arms out of your sockets." The huntress said calmly as she climbed out of her car, pulling out her double ended spear.

"The fact that I saved your lives in the mountains would be reason enough for me.." The hooded man spoke, not rising to her aggression.

"Your the archer.." Fang said, realizing the hooded man was the one who held off Genesis for them to escape. "I see you've brought a friend.. What is it you want?"

"The facility Elena told you is in fact a materia warehouse. I have been inside and they have crates upon crates of materia and Shinra weaponry. It would seem former Shinra employee's have defected and have given your enemy their mako and weapons technology." The hooded figure explained.

"How did you-?! That was a secure line." Fang said, baffled as to how the man knew about their call.

"it's a.. hobby, to know things that shouldn't be known."

"So why are you here? You plan on helping me?" The brunette asked.

"I am afraid we came only to warn you of the dangers. Our focus is to help a rebel clan 10km west. They have been fighting the Disciples for some time but are now facing a force much more advanced than themselves."

"Do they need weapons?" Fang offered without hesitation.

"They are very.. traditional.. they do not use guns and tanks in battle.."

"That's a sure fire way to a quick death." Fang huffed. "I see you have more sense.." She added, noting the pair of pistols strapped to the smaller hooded figure that remained silent.

"Perhaps.. But they are warriors who fight for what they believe in. We grew up with technology."

"Is there anything I can offer that their misplaced pride can look past?" The huntress asked, determined to help any potential ally.

"Food and steel would be a great help, General." The hooded man replied.

"I'll have it air dropped within 24 hours. If the country wasn't on high alert after the Disciple broadcast I would have sent troops as well." Fang said regrettably.

"You have done more than enough already. Plans and photographs of the facility are on this drive." The man said, handing her a small USB drive. "I must go." He said bluntly as he watched two headlights appear in the distance behind Fang.

Fang turned as she heard the noise of motorcycles hum behind her. The bright light of the headlight's voided all colour from their silhouettes but the huntress recognized the unique shape of Cloud Strife's hair flickering in the wind. The pair stopped their bikes at Fang's feet and the blonde dismounted his and ran straight past the bronze skinned beauty towards the two hooded figures that vanished into the shadows.

"Who were they?" Claire asked as she turned off her motorcycle.

"One of them was the man who helped us get blondie away. What do you want?" She said bluntly.

"I see your still in a happy mood.. I'm sure Vincent had his reasons." Claire said, noting her hostility.

"You wanna stay here, you don't mention his name in my house." Fang said as she marched inside her house, leaving the door open for the pair.

"She still in a mood?" Cloud asked as he returned from the shadows, unable to find the two hooded figures.

"Yep. And that's never a good thing.."

Cloud followed Claire inside Fang's home, shutting the door behind him as he entered. Just like the first time he set foot in this house, Vanille bolted down the stairs like a child on christmas morning to greet them, explaining in great detail the foul mood her best friend has been in since she returned.

"Seriously. She caught one of the soldiers texting his girlfriend while on duty and made him run ten miles!" Vanille said.

"We'll deal with her in the morning.. For now let's get some sleep." Claire yawned.

"Okay. Oh, oh, oh! Wait!" The red head shouted. "What nut to a give to a blue and a green chocobo to get a black one? One of the chocobo's dribbled over some of my notes!"

"Carob nut." Cloud smiled. "Goodnight Vanille."

Cloud and Claire retired to their bedroom, ready to sleep off the hundreds of miles of riding and their brief stint with Genesis. They could hear Fang crashing about the house as they got undressed, tutting to herself and getting angry with inanimate objects for no particular reason. One thing was certain. The huntress was not taking getting her feelings hurt well at all. Cloud stood at the window, staring out into the dark red sands that dusted the rocky canyon when the phone in his pocket vibrated.

**From: ?**

**Subject: The huntress**

Isn't she a feisty one. I fear her self destructive mood will be her downfall. Keep an eye on her. There's a big heart beneath all of that anger.

P.S

Nice to see you again.

"Everything okay?" Claire asked.

"Yeah.." He replied, pocketing his phone.

"Lets get some sleep, the others will be here to share Fang's wrath tomorrow." The rose haired beauty yawned.

**(Academia City)**

Cid bounced his old mustang onto the curb of one of the many brightly lit streets in the city. He turns the engine off, silencing the deep rumble from the carburetter fed V8 and returning the street back to near silence, the only noise being a faint buzz from a neon sign hung in the window of the shop he entered.

"A pack of twenty and some lighter fluid." He said to the man behind the counter as he took the gil out of his pocket.

"I'm sorry sir, I can't serve you." The store owner replied.

"I'm a thirty six year old man with money. Why the hell can't you serve me?!" Cid barked.

"A woman came in a few days ago and payed me to not sell Cid Highwind cigarettes." The man gulped, seeing the rage build in the pilot's face.

"My name isn't Cid, It's..Er.. John." Cid tried desperately.

The man stayed silent but instead took a photograph from behind the counter and showed it to Cid. The picture was of himself with a large grin on his face. Marker pen wrote on the back read: _Do not serve this man Cigarettes!_

"Stupid pain in the ass.." Cid mumbled to himself behind gritted teeth as he stormed out of the shop defeated.

The angry pilot got back into his mustang, slamming the door shut behind him so hard that it shook the whole car. He reached over to the glove box and pulled out a packet of nicotine patches and stuck several on each of his forearms. The pilots ringtone filled the car with a high pitched chime that was vanquished when he answered it.

"WHAAAAAT!" Cid shouted down the phone.

"I take it you still haven't had one?" Yuffie laughed.

"If it's about taking you all to Fang's I'll be ten minutes, you irritating little wench." The pilot barked.

"Wench? Hardly a name you should call someone that has bought you some cigarettes, is it?" Yuffie replied.

"You've- You know I love you, right kiddo?" Cid said, grinning to himself in excitement. "I'll be five minutes my sweet wutian flower."

"Yeah yeah.. Just get your butt here, we're waiting." The ninja replied, putting the phone down on him.

Without a seconds hesitation, Cid turned the key to his car, roaring it to life and sped off in a cloud of tire smoke. He only managed one hundred yards before blue flashing lights appeared in his rear view mirror.

"Oh for fuck sake!" Cid shouted as he pulled over and turned off his engine.

"Do you know why I stopped you sir?" The officer asked in a typical authoritative tone.

"Because I let you?" Cid fired back with his usual razor sharp whit.

"Could you step out of the vehicle please, sir?" The policeman said, unimpressed with the pilot's answer.

"You gotta be kiddin' me?!" The tobacco deprived pilot shouted.

"I've got a dangerous driver resisting arrest, could I get some backup." The man said into the radio mounted to his tactical vest.

"Arrest?! Like hell you're arresting me!" Cid roared as he went to turn on his car, failing spectacularly as the police officer drew his tazer pistol and fired, making him involuntarily but instantly submissive.

**(Police station 30 mins later)**

"I want my phonecall!" Cid shouted as he was dragged into the station.

"You have two minutes." The officer behind the desk said as he handed the cuffed pilot a phone.

"Barret, it's Cid... I know I'm late... Just listen will you!... I need to to come down to the police station and bail me out.. It's a long story... Okay.. Hey, not a word to the others.. you hear?" The denim coated pilot said before passing the phone back to the officer as another escorted him to a cell.

Twenty minutes later Barret and Nanaki walked into the police station and walked over to the now empty front desk in search of assistance. When none could be seen, Barret mashed the bell on the counter so hard he crushed the metal dome into the hardwood surface.

"Can I help you?" A female officer said as she appeared from a door behind the counter.

"I'm here to pick up Cid Highwind." He said bluntly.

"I'm sorry but under who's authority?" The woman asked in a condescending tone.

"Mine.." Nanaki spoke, standing on his hind legs and resting his front paws on the counter, towering over the woman menacingly. "I am Nanaki, I am a member of Hope's Council." He said calmly, maintaining his intense stare.

"Y-Yes.. sir.. it is sir?" The woman mumbled in a mixture of terror and amazement that such a huge animal was staring at her like she was his next meal but talking.

What felt like a lifetime passed before Cid's cell door was opened by one of the police officers that lead the man to the front desk where Barret and Nanaki stood waiting for him. Barret couldn't help but laugh at the pilot who looked a little worse for wear after his run in with a tazer but Nanaki merely shook his head and left the building.

"The hell you do?" Barret asked as the pair walked out of the police station.

"Not a damn thing!" Cid said. "You haven't told the others have you?"

"Only Nanaki. And it's damn lucky he was in the HQ at this hour too because I've got no authority in this place. Everyone will want to know where you' bin though."

"We'll take your car. We'll say mine broke down." The pilot said.

"Whatever man. Get in the damn car.." Barret sighed. "You coming Nanaki?"

"I am to meet with Rufus and Hope tomorrow morning so I will have to give this little adventure a miss." Nanaki said.

"Fair enough. How's Deneh doing?"

"Adapting to modern life quite well. And I enjoy her company greatly." The red furred animal said. "Good luck on your mission."

**(Airship hanger, Edge of city)**

"What's taking so long..." Yuffie moaned as she paced up and down the bridge of the still unnamed ship.

"He'll get here, traffic might be bad." Tifa said.

"And where is Vincent? Is he still avoiding Fang like the plague?" The ninja questioned.

"I dunno, Vincent comes and goes as he pleases." The brunette answered.

"I saw him leave in the morning." Denzel said as he looked through the glass walls of the bridge.

"What where you doing there at that time young man?" Tifa questioned.

"I was erm.. Looking after Duke for Light." He said.

"You mean your were practicing the fighting she's been teaching you?" She said, watching his expression closely.

"You know?!"

"Of course I know, Denzel. I know everything." She winked. "I don't mind.. You seem much happier and confident since you've been doing it."

"I thought you'd be angry.." Denzel said with a look of relief across his face.

"Nope." She smiled. "I understand why Cloud didn't want to teach you. He doesn't want you fighting like him. But I don't mind as long as you're careful."

"Yuffie! Did I tell you that you're lookin' real pretty today?" Cid shouted as he burst into the airship and made a bee line for the ninja. "So, you have my cigarettes?"

"There ya go." She beamed as she handed over a small case to a puzzled looking Cid. "There E-Cigarettes.. All the rage apparently."

The pilot's face glowed red in anger as he tried to suppress the sudden urge to strangle the Yuffie for getting his hopes us that ended in him speeding and getting thrown in a cell. After several deep breaths. Cid took his position at the helm of the airship and began his preflight system checks as Barret finally climbed aboard.

"You got a name for the ship yet Cid?" Tifa asked.

"The Phoenix." Cid answered, turning his attention from tobacco to piloting.

**(Fang's house)**

After reading through all of the intel the hooded man have her on her computer, Fang headed off to bed with a better idea of what she was going to do tomorrow. Standing at her window, the huntress stared out it aimlessly at the mass of withered trees; a pained expression painted on her bronze skin, as if the tiniest of things could break her hard exterior and reduce her to tears.

"I hope you can forgive me when the time comes..." Vincent whispered to himself from a branch of one of the mass of trees, watching the woman he was so cold to from the shadows.

**A/N: Bit longer this chapter and it has a bit of everything. Again I apologize for the sex scene, its not something I'm good at but I felt it was needed. As I predicted, we have a tie about serah's baby so I'll let it continue until I have a winner. Next chapter you will have a bigger decision to make and will be about 90% fighting/ action. Let me know what you think and as always, thanks for reading.**

**P.S my internet is down (Currently tethered to my iphone to post this) So any messages etc I will respond to once its back on :D**


	11. Chapter 11

Vincent sat on the outside of the huntress' window ledge as the sun peered over the horizon. He watched the woman sleep restlessly until the sun rose further, casting his haunting shadow into her room, covering her in darkness like a blanket. The bronze skinned beauty opened her emerald eyes slowly when the gentle warmth of the sun stopped caressing her face, only to be met by the sun's radiance once more. _Must have been a bird.._She thought to herself, as she guessed what caused the shadow that vanished no sooner than it had arrived.

In the next room, Claire woke to an empty bed. She rubbed her hand across his side of the bed, feeling the last lingering bit of heat left behind by the blonde who was nowhere to be seen. Wondering if he'd gone down for breakfast, the pinkette changed quickly and trotted down the stairs, only to be met with Vanille; who was destroying the kitchen in an attempt to make pancakes.

"Morning!" Vanille beamed. "Pancakes?"

"I'll stick to toast.." Claire said after inspecting the pancakes the bubbly red head had made. "Have you seen Cloud?"

"Yeah. He went for a walk about ten minutes ago. Said you looked to peaceful to disturb." She answered as she attempted to flip her pancake, sticking it to the ceiling.

Cloud walked through the dry and dusty tracks at the back of the house and entered the large mass of dead trees, scanning the branches as he walked, determined not to let his ghost like friend sneak up on him like usual.

"I see I was unsuccessful in my attempt to go unnoticed..." Vincent's deep voice mumbled from above him.

"I'm afraid so.. Catch." The blonde said as he threw an apple up to Vincent, who stayed perched on one of the thickest branches.

"You haven't told her?" The former turk asked.

"Fang? No.. If I had I'd imagine she'd have burned the tree's down." Cloud smirked. "So what's the plan?"

"I intend to keep an eye on her.. She seems... Vulnerable.." Vincent said.

"From a distance?" The cerulean eyed man asked.

"It's safer.. For everyone.." The crimson caped man said solemnly.

"You mean Chaos? I thought you had control of it?"

"It becomes active during heightened emotions.. I can control and utilize the demon's power when I'm angry. But when I'm with Fang I can feel It's wicked consciousness break free and mine pushed to one side.." Vincent said.

"I see.. And what do you plan on doing about it?" Cloud said.

"I have spoken to Rufus.. It may be possible to remove the beast and seal it into materia.. Then I can be rid of this cursed gift." The former turk said, despising his immortality.

The pair continued their conversation until the rotting woodland was sent into darkness by Cid's new airship that hummed above, casting a shadow on the land. Not wanting to be discovered by the others; who's lips where not as tight as the blonde, Vincent gave Cloud a thankful nod and disappeared deeper into the forest. The ropes on the airship fell next to the house as the blonde reappeared from behind the treeline, ready to greet his friends.

"Cloud!" Yuffie smiled when she rappelled from the airship, covering her mouth as she landed to stop the vomit. "urgh... I still hate those things.."

"Still have motion sickness?" Cloud said, placing a comforting hand on her back.

"Yeah.. that idiot's piloting didn't help. Waited till we all got comfy to test his evasive maneuvers.. Jerk..." The young ninja groaned.

"Quit ya moanin' squirt!" Cid barked as he slid down the rope.

Barret, who had Marlene clinging to his back; was the next to descend from the ship followed by Tifa who waited at the bottom for Denzel like a worried mother as he demanded her went down on his own. As he repelled down the thick rope, his eyes caught Claire's, who was walking out of the house with a half eaten piece of toast. She gave the boy a quick smile and he loosened his grip on the rope slightly, falling quicker until he reached the bottom, landing in a cool pose.

"You givin' me flashbacks of that cocky idiot jumpin' off a train." Barret said to Denzel as he had a flashback of Cloud leaping off the train during their first mako reactor bombing.

"Really?!" Denzel smiled from ear to ear with pride.

"It ain't a complement..." Barret shook his head.

"Did you say hi to Vincent for me?" Claire whispered in Clouds ear as she watched Yuffie raise her fists at Cid, ready to give the pilot a beating.

"How did you?.." The blonde said in surprise.

"Mako eyes.. Might wanna tell him to ditch the bright red cape if he wants to stay concealed." Claire replied.

"You've not told Fang have you?" Cloud questioned.

"No, She'd probably burn the trees down with him in it." She answered with a straight face."What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Cloud laughed. _Not just me who thinks it then.._

"Cloud, what did you bring us here for?" Tifa interrupted with a tired Marlene in her arms.

"Let's go inside.. I'll explain everything." Cloud smiled as he lead them to the house, stopping at the door. "Anybody who values their head would be wise not to mention Vincent.."

Everyone piled into the house, passing Vanille who was on her ninth attempt at a pancake. She pointed them towards one of the largest rooms in the house that contained a bitter and angry Fang. Cloud entered the room which contained a large, rectangular table that looked like it had been varnished in blood. At the head of the table sat the huntress, slumped in one of the dozen chairs that surrounded it with her slender bronze legs resting on it's smooth wooden surface.

"Great.. What do you all want?.." Fang moaned as she looked over the materia warehouse blueprint's she had printed out last night.

"I want to go into enemy territory.. There's people there fighting the Disciples but if the Disciples are getting close to making Soldier strength troops they won't last long." Cloud said as he took a seat on the opposite end of the table.

"Do what you want, I'm going here." The huntress said bluntly as she slid a large map across the table to the blonde.

"It's only a few miles from where I want to go.. Why don't we split into two teams?" The blonde suggested.

"I don't need your help.."

"Listen you moody witch! I'm getting' tired of looking at your miserable face. Now we're helpin' you or you ain't goin' anywhere!" Cid barked as he stormed over to Fang who was now on her feet and in his face.

"You want me to beat that smug look off your face Highwind?" Fang said in a calm but sinister voice.

"I ain't had a cigarette in weeks, I'd like to see you try!" The pilot snapped back.

"Hmph.." She huffed before sitting back down. "Do what you want..."

"Well that was... Intense.." Barret said as he took a seat as far away from Fang and Cid as he could find.

"What can I say, I have a way with women." Cid joked as he sat next to the huntress and threw his boots onto the table.

Claire watched Fang roll her eyes at the pilot but she could also see the corner of her lips turn up into a faint smile. She sat on the arm of the blonde's chair as everyone else took a seat around the table, waiting for Cloud to speak again. The cerulean eyed man looked around the room and counted who was present. _Me, Claire, Fang, Tifa, Yuffie, Barret and Cid._

"Okay.. Barret can come with me and Claire. Yuffie and Cid can go with Fang." Cloud said as he looked over the aerial photographs of the land.

"Erm.. What about me?" Tifa asked, trying to hide how annoyed she was that she hadn't been included.

"I need you here to keep Vanille and the kids safe. The town was making me nervous after the TV broadcast.. It's the only way I could keep you all safe.."

"Fine." She huffed leaving the room with Marlene. "You coming Denzel?"

"I wanna watch this." He answered honestly.

Claire watched Tifa leave the room, slamming the door behind her in annoyance but her attention soon returned to the pile of papers across the table that Fang and Cid were arguing over. Cloud sighed as their no nonsense personalities clashed due to just how alike they were and Yuffie ignored the pair and observed the map for possible entry points.

"That's the best way in." The huntress said, pointing to the eastern wall of the complex on the map.

"Like hell it is! That's the furthest away from the main warehouse! The west wall would be better." Cid argued.

"What the hell would you know?! You're a pilot not a soldier!" Fang fired back.

"And you're just a woman wearin' a ridiculous scarf!"

"Erm... Wouldn't the north wall be better?" Denzel interrupted timidly. "In all of these surveillance photos there's guards apart from this one with the gray building in it.." The boy said, pointing to a small pile of photo's that the pair had overlooked in their argument.

"Ya know what... I think the kid's right." Cid said, comparing the photographs with the blue prints.

Denzel looked over to Cloud and Claire with a sense of smug pride, earning himself a smile and a thumbs up from the blonde and a wink from the pinkette.

"Alright it's settled. Get yourselves ready, we set off in an hour." Fang said, rising from her seat and leaving.

Almost an hour later, Barret had hoisted up the last of the supplies that would help them in their battle whilst Yuffie was giving Fang an extensive materia lesson on Cloud's order, much to the annoyance of Cid who did not want her practicing magic inside the ship. Soon after, the spear wielding pilot set off but not before Fang's unwanted guardian angel, Vincent had managed to smuggle himself on board.

"Yo Cid! I gotta question." Barret shouted up to the pilot who had a grin plastered across his face that appeared every time he was flying. "How are we gonna get close to where we need to be without gettin' shot outta the sky?"

"Being the genius that I am I stole the data on the stealth technology Rufus and his CIA were working on and perfected it." He said smugly. "I can make the ship completely invisible."

"Really?" Cloud said in amazement.

"Your damn right I can, kid. Only works when your going slow or stopped though... I haven't found a processor core capable of keeping it active at speed."

"You should speak to Hope. He's a computer wiz." Claire said. "How long till we're there?"

"Even at top speed we're gonna be a few hours. Park your asses for a bit."

Not wanting to put up with Cid's abrasive personality for hours, Claire left the bridge with Cloud in her wake to find somewhere where they could just sit, undisturbed for the next few hours. The pinkette lead him to the outer deck, only to be met by Yuffie, who was on her hands and knee's with her head over the railings, vomiting periodically.

"Here.." Cloud whispered softly as he took a knee next to yuffie and pulled out a small packet of pills.

"You remembered?.." Yuffie said as she took the pill's; so happy that her sickness would stop, albeit temporarily. "Thanks, Cloud.." She smiled weakly as the tablets slowly began to take effect and she caught her breath. "I'll give you two some peace.."

"I'll have to keep my eye on that one." Claire said jokingly.

"hmm?" Cloud frowned.

"She likes you."

"She doesn't." The blonde dismissed. "She just gives me less grief than the rest because I'm nice to her."

"Yeah yeah, don't you go swapping me for a younger model." She teased as she lay down on the polished wooden deck and listened to the gentle hum of the engines.

Cloud lay beside her, staring up at the clear blue sky, enjoying the silent company Claire provided. After nearly four hours the pair where fast asleep, the only sign of life being the occasional twitch when the wind changed direction and blew across their bare skin. Their serene slumber was not to be however, as the bellowing voice of Cid Highwind on the intercom system woke them abruptly.

"Get yer asses to the bridge!" He shouted.

"Is he always this irritating?" Claire yawned.

"Pretty much.. His heart's in the right place though." The blonde answered.

"How do you always see the best in people?" She asked, still frustrated with the pilot.

"They supported me during one of the toughest times in my life.. I guess I can overlook their flaws.. Doesn't mean I don't think about killing them in their sleep every once in a while." Cloud laughed. "Come on. Let's go see whats up."

Cloud ushered the reluctant pinkette inside and returned to the bridge where everyone was waiting. Cid set the airship's autopilot and set the stealth cloak up before leaping from the wheel and into the middle of the group, ready to give one of his speeches.

"Alright! Listen up! Ship's now hidden so we should be able to get real close. I'm reading around a thousand lifesigns straight ahead so it's safe to assume that's your mini war." He said, nodding to the blonde. "No idea what percentage of that thousand is hostile but as its us lets assume 99%." Cid smirked, getting a laugh from the others. "I'll fly over real slow and real low but I ain't stoppin' so get ready to jump. Then me, Yuffie and moody ass will go mess up that materia factory. Questions?"

"Hey!" Fang shouted, punching the pilot in the arm.

"Good, no questions.. Right, you three get to the deck and get ready." Cid said.

"Wait!" Yuffie shouted. "The materia you told me to bring!" She said as she dragged a large metallic box across the floor.

Cloud smiled and knelt besides the box, unlocking it before he lifted the heavy lid to reveal an arsenal of materia. He picked up several green orbs and a red one before shutting the lid and standing again.

"Here.." He said to Yuffie, Cid and Fang. "A mastered quake materia each.. Cid can take my cure and Yuffie..." The blonde said as he handed over a red orb to the young woman. "Don't loose it.."

"I won't!" She shouted in happiness. "Pinky promise!" The ninja smiled, holding out her little finger.

Cloud sighed and shook his head, imagining it would be the last time he ever saw his titan materia. He did not have time to instil his displeasure if she lost it when Barret tapped him on the shoulder, signaling it was soon time to jump.

Cloud picked up the box of materia and followed Claire and Barret back onto the outer deck and looked down on the battle that was raging below. A force of nearly a thousand Disciple soldiers armed with a mixture of rifles, mortars, crossbows and machetes where cutting through the rebel warriors that where armed with swords that greatly resembled on of his, the mursame. Even from the air he could smell the blood and burning flesh that covered the ground below. At the front of the Rebel group stood a large man in strange plated armor that was coloured with black enamel. Purple layers of silk between the plates and a large crescent moon on his helmet where the only thing that distinguished him from the others of his clan. To his left and right stood the two hooded figures that he had seen talking to Fang the previous night.

The phoenix airship got closer and closer to the center of the battlefield but was still high in the air. Cloud watched the rebel leader cut through two of the enemy soldiers that advanced on him, dropping them to the ground instantly. His minor victory was short lived however, when a crossbow bolt found its way though the mass of people and into the man's shoulder, punching through the armour like it was paper. The man snapped the arrow shaft that stuck out of his shoulder and continued his charge; only managing a few steps before another bolt found it's way into the man's thigh, bringing him crashing down. The blonde watched on as a Disciple soldier marched across the battlefield with a crossbow on his back and a machete in his grip, ready to take his prize. The head of the rebel leader.

Without thinking, Cloud leaped over the railings and raised his sword above his head, letting the anger at what he was witnessing build. Not worrying about how fast he would hit the ground, the cerulean eyed man brought the sword down with all of the force he could muster, cutting the man in half and continuing the slice deep into the ground, splitting the earth in front of him and creating a large crevice that swallowed up around a dozen enemy soldiers. The injured Rebel leaded lifted his head slowly when the ground shook to find a small crater at his knees. Heavy looking boots stood in the center, connected to baggy black pants with a cloak that hung from one hip. His eyes continued to climb until they were met with the back of the man's spiky blonde hair. _It can't be..._

Cloud pulled his sword out of the ground and rested it on his right shoulder before turning to face the rebel leader who was close to tears when his first thoughts where confirmed.

"Cloud!? Cloud Strife?!"

"Do I know you?" Cloud asked.

The man didn't answer but removed his helmet instead.

"GODO?! You're alive?!" Cloud said in shock.

"You remembered me... Tell me.. Is my daughter still alive?" He asked with a hope in his eyes that only a parent could have.

"She is, sir.." The blonde smiled.

Godo could not hold back the happy tears at the news that the daughter he has been unable to find for so long was alive and well. Cloud didn't have the heart to tell him she was less than a hundred feet away just moments ago but promised himself that he would reunite them before the day ended. Kneeling down beside Yuffie's father, the blonde healed his wounds as Claire and Barret made their way to him; the latter carrying the box of materia he had forgotten in his haste to help.

"You're one reckless son of a... Godo?! Is that you?!" Barret shouted as he sent a wave of bullets towards the enemy.

"It is indeed. Am I to assume that they sent for you?" Godo said, pointing to the two hooded figures that were still in the middle of the battle.

"Yeah.. Do you know who they are?" Cloud asked.

"I do not know their names and they do not remove their hoods, I have seen mako eyes under the man's hood.. that I am sure of.. the other is a woman.. very caring and sympathetic to our ways despite her affinity for technology- It looks like they are regrouping! Samurai! Get in formation!" Godo roared, his words causing instant action.

"Samurai?" Claire asked.

"It means 'to serve' miss. We serve the memory of our lost home of Wutai. Our home may be destroyed but nothing shall destroy our memory of it."

"Hey! You still remember how to use this stuff?" Cloud asked, kicking the box of materia over to Yuffie's father. "We'll hold them off, divide that between your best and join when you're ready."

Godo gave Cloud an appreciative nod as he ran into battle with the fusion sword by his side, heading straight for a mass of Disciple's that ran towards the hooded archer. He ducked under the first man's blade and punched him in the gut, dropping him on his back as he dodged a crossbow bolt from a distant soldier that began to panic as he attempted to reload the crossbow. He locked the bowstring back and took a bolt from the quiver and began shakily trying to place it in the groove and nock it onto the string.

"Hey.." Claire whispered into the man's ear, causing him to spin on his heels and fire his crossbow blindly, hitting one of his own troops in the chest just before the rose haired beauty pushed her buster sword through his torso. "Hey, Cloud! Who's Godo? You seem like you know him." She shouted across the battlefield to the blonde as she cut through a Disciple machete like it was made of tin foil.

"Godo is Yuffie's father!"

"Really!? No wonder she never found him! You'd have to be nuts to come here!" She laughed realizing she had just called them both nuts. "Mortar! Look out!" She screamed at Cloud as she watched the explosive begin its decent over him.

Cloud never herd Claire over the sound of gunfire and clashing steel and held his ground against nine soldiers that circled him like vultures, waiting for him to make a move. The pinkette ran towards him, slicing the arm of an enemy solder off and using another as a stepping stone to launch herself into the air. With her spare hand she reached into the back of her skirt and pulled out the pistol she had taken with her at the start of they journey. Still in mid air, Claire took aim at the explosive shell that would fall on the blonde and squeezed the trigger until a bullet left the barrel, blowing up the mortar in mid air as she felt the slide push another round into the chamber.

Barret fought on the other side of the battlefield, enjoying the action that had been sparse in his life for quite some time. He enjoyed the quiet life with his adopted daughter Marlene but on the adrenaline fueled battlefield he smiled to himself as he ran, mixed in with Godo's samurai towards the enemy.

**(JUST NORTH OF MATERIA WAREHOUSE)**

"Okay! Jump!" Cid shouted as he threw himself over the side of the airship, landing just before the treeline near the north wall.

As soon as Yuffie and Fang landed beside him, the three sprinted to the towering stone wall that looked like it would stop a train. They could see the roof of the main building that contained all of the materia and the gray building that was nearest to the wall that Denzel pointed out. Yuffie took a few steps back and sprinted up the wall, gripping the top and pulling herself up, just enough to peer over.

"The kid was right, no guards." The ninja whispered. "Come on."

Fang threw her spear at the wall, sticking it into the stone three quarters of the way up. After a short run up to the wall, she jumped off it and gripped her spear, using it to pull herself up.

"Come on, old man." Fang shouted as quietly as she could.

After five minutes of swearing under his breath, Cid finally managed to scale the wall and sat on the top of it while he caught his breath. Fang, who was the first to jump down, crouched behind a metal door that led into the gray building they would start their search at. The huntress was about to open the door when Cid tapped her on the shoulder with something cold and metal. A silenced pistol.

"Nice one." Fang nodded as she grabbed the handle and turned. _Locked..._ "Don't suppose you have a lock pick too?"

"Of course, never leave home without it." Cid winked before standing up and kicking the door in. "Opens every door, just like a skeleton key." He grinned as he wiggled his boot in Fang's face.

"CID!" Yuffie scalded. "Someone could have heard that!"

"Yeah, yeah.. Come on.."

The two women shook their heads and creeped into the building, scanning the corners for hostiles while Cid casually walked behind them with his spear over his shoulder.

"Look at that. It's huge." Fang said pointing to the tank in the middle of the room.

"Well.. I don't like to brag... Oh, you mean the tank.. Yeah that means business all right.." Cid said, earning him a disgusted look from the huntress.

"Shut up and check it out, idiot." Yuffie ordered.

Cid rested his spear against the tank's tracks and climbed into the artillery vehicle through the small opening at the top. After a few minutes of snooping, he returned to the others with his findings.

"Its a mako powered tank. But look at this.." Cid said, taking a shell he took from the tanks cannon and pulling it apart. "They're crystallizing mako and mixing it with the gunpowder.. That makes one hell of a bang."

"How big a bang are we talking?" Fang asked.

"I'd say five of these tanks could take the capitol city." Cid guessed.

"Great... We'll have to deal with it on our way out.." The brunette sighed.

The trio proceeded through the building, making mental notes of where every door was or piece of potential cover should the need arise. At the opposite end of the room was a door that would lead them to their destination; the main warehouse. They approached it with caution and Yuffie peered through the keyhole to check if the coast was clear.

"There's a few guards but they all walk up and down the same routes.. I say we have an eight second window to get to the nearest cover." The young ninja calculated. "As soon as I open that door, you both need to be behind me, moving low and quick. Ready?"

Fang gave her the thumbs up, signaling that she was ready and Cid gave a nod so Yuffie opened the door and sprinted to the nearest line of wooden crates that filled half of the warehouse. Cid placed his hand against the rough wooden crate he was hiding behind, not needing to look inside to know it was full of materia.

"I can feel the stuff through the box.. Must be hundreds just in this one crate.." Cid whispered.

"I know... I have to destroy it no matter what the costs.." Yuffie replied.

"We need to take out the guards first. I count six.. Two snipers on the platform above and four patrolling the floor.." Fang said as she pointed them out. "We need to take the snipers first. There's more chance of them spotting us. You two take the left flank, I'll take the right. Use your radio when your in position."

Yuffie nodded and tapped the pilot on the shoulder to follow as she used the rows of crates as cover, weaving in and out of them silently like a wraith. As she worked her way around the warehouse, keeping a constant eye on the soldier that patrolled the metal walkway with a sniper rifle, the ninja had missed the guard on the ground that was walking straight for her. She continued her stealthy crawl across the room oblivious to what was about to happen behind her. Yuffie became brutally aware of the guard when she felt the cold metal of a barrel press into her back and the fire selector click from safe to semi.

"Don't move.." He said as he took one hand off his rifle and reached for his radio.

Yuffie closed her eyes, waiting for the bullet to end her until she couldn't bare it any longer. Timidly she turned to find the wooden pole of the pilot's spear across the soldiers throat, choking the man from behind until his body went limp.

"Ninja my ass.." He said as he dropped the unconscious soldier. "Lets go."

Yuffie graciously nodded to Cid and proceeded to flank around the edges of the crates until she came to the steel ladder that lead to the walkway that ran in a loop above them. On the other side of the room was another that the huntress was surely waiting under. Pressing the small button attached to her chest, the Wutaian told Fang that she was at the bottom of the ladder.

"Okay... wait... wait...now." Fang said down the radio as she propped her spear against the base of the ladder.

Fang and Yuffie bolted up the cold steel ladders in silence as if they weighed nothing on the on the metal rungs, until they reached the top. The pair raced around the walkway to their respective targets, both having their presence made known by the steel lattice floor that creaked as they sprinted across it. The huntress glanced across quickly to watch Yuffie dodge a bullet the sniper had fired in haste and throw her shuriken at the man, knocking him over the railing and down onto the crates below. The bronze skinned beauty looked back at her own enemy, who dropped his rifle and went for his side arm, drawing it and firing. The bullet grazed Fang's cheek as she gripped the man's wrist, pointing the gun into the air as it went off for a second time. She looked into the man's eyes as she wrestled with him, noting his strength and the eyes that looked like Cloud's. Quickly realizing she was loosing her battle to keep the barrel away from her body, Fang reached for the Pistol Cid had gave her and quickly fired a shot in the enemy's kneecap, dropping him to his knees before releasing two bullets into the side of his head.

Sparks bounced off the railings as the three remaining guards below opened fire on the walkway. Watching the scene unfold before him, Cid gripped his spear and ran up the staggered row of crates are shouted over the gunfire.

"HEEEYYY! Shoot me instead!" He shouted as he leaped off the box and thrust his spear through one of the soldiers that stood below.

Fang ran back to the ladder, firing shots over the railing towards the soldier below as she dodged the bullets that ricocheted off the roof. The huntress leaped over the edge near the ladder, firing until the slide locked back on the pistol, signaling it being empty before she gripped the edge of the ladder and slid down. Her claw bladed spear remained where she had left it at the bottom of the ladder so the huntress gripped it and charged, only to find the man dead on the floor, a bullet hole in his chest. _I must have shot him... _Running through the warehouse to help the others, Fang found them stood over the final guard; Yuffie's shuriken sticking out of his neck.

"Let's check this place out quickly, they could have radioed for backup." Fang said to the pair.

The trio split up, opening crates periodically, finding every one contained hundreds of materia. Yuffie continued to a door that lead to an enclosed section of the warehouse and carefully opened the door.

"Errr... Guys... You need to see this..." Yuffie said down the radio as her eyes met the contents of the room.

Yuffie walked into the room cautiously, scanning the entire room with each step forward. Stood before her were rows upon rows of mako tanks, each containing a man. The ninja approached one of the tanks slowly, never taking her eyes off the human inside and picked up the clipboard attached to the handle.

_Soldier number 5, materia fusion test commenced. 3 fire materia added to mako. Subject Shows promise as absorption progresses._

"This is creepy..." The ninja muttered to herself as she replaced the clipboard.

"This ain't good, is it?" Cid said quietly as he and Fang made their way into the room.

"Here must be hundreds..." The huntress said as she visually counted the rows of tanks.

"They're not just infused.. They have been throwing materia into the mako, dissolving it so it can be absorbed into the skin.." Yuffie explained.

"So they could potentially use magic without the materia?" Cid asked.

"They'd be like L'cie... An army of L'cie..." Fang said as a shiver ran down her spine. "We need to bring this building down now.. right now..."

"I think that's why Cloud gave us earth materia. If we each take a corner of the complex and damage the supports the warehouse should cave in on itself with the right incentive." The young ninja smiled, rolling the summon materia the blonde entrusted to her.

"Right then, lets go." The bronze skinned general said as she darted from the room.

The trio split up and set off towards three of the four corners of the warehouse, radioing in once they had got into position.

"Okay, lets do it. Be careful not to destroy it completely or we'll be buried alive. I'll finish it off." Yuffie spoke into her radio.

Cid took the earth materia out of his pocket and rolled it around his palm before pushing it into the slot in his spear where the shaft meets the blade. Raising his spear into the air, Cid jammed it into the ground, causing the floor underneath his feet to shake wildly. The pilot kept his tight grip on the spear's pole, keeping the materia active until large cracks began to form in the walls, weakening its structure.

"Alright, I'm done. Meet up at the entrance." Cid said as he rested his spear over his shoulder with a sense of pride and reached for the packet of cigarettes that spent most of his adult life in his jacket pocket, finding nothing. _Give me a break..._

Yuffie was the first to reach the door they used to enter the facility originally and waited for Cid who appeared moments later, casually strolling towards her without a care in the world. After a minute past with no sign of the huntress, Yuffie began to worry but her mind was soon put to rest at the sound of footsteps. Running footsteps.

"Run!" Fang screamed as she came into view.

The pair frowned at the brunette, confused as to why she was sprinting towards them like a mad banshee but as she neared the a feint thud began to grow as hundreds of men ran after her. Yuffie's eyes widened as she saw the men that dripped with mako chase after the huntress. Jamming the summon materia into the central hole of her shuriken, the ninja thrust one of the four spikes into the ground just as Fang ran past her, piercing the smooth concrete floor.

"Squirt! Let's go!" Cid shouted as he pushed Fang through the open door before leaving himself.

Yuffie turned and ran with a smile as she heard the sound of cracking concrete behind her. The mass of mako infused men ran after the trio but where stopped when the ground that was struck by the ninja's shuriken was split open from below. Two colossal hands pushed the earth apart, revealing the lifestream below that consumed several of the closest men. The other infused Disciple's turned their attention to the summon that slowly rose from the ground like a Goliath.

The men began to use their magic spells on the fifty foot tall Titan, doing little to no damage to the rock skinned summon that picked up its nearest enemy and crushed him with his massive hand. Titan turned his attention to the task that was mentally given to him by his master and threw his fist through the nearest wall like a wrecking ball and pulled the brick and steel in around him. The summon continued his rampage of destruction, pulling the building in on itself wall by wall as the mako soldiers bombarded him with magic, slowly but surely damaging the giant.

"What the hell was that?!" Fang shouted to Yuffie as they ran to the wall.

"Titan. One of Cloud's summon materia." Yuffie smiled as she held up the blood red orb in her hand.

"Keep smiling squirt. The closest you'll ever get to blondie's balls!" Cid teased as he tried to keep up.

"Your a pig, Highwind!" The huntress shouted, trying to suppress the slight grin on her face.

The trio turned at the sound of Titan's defeated roar to find the colossal building that once stood behind them was reduced to a pile of rubble. The ninja watched as what was left of the structure was consumed by the lifestream below but her sense of accomplishment was soon disturbed by the sound of the slowly sinking rubble moving and around sixty men crawl from the wreckage.

"We won't make it over the wall without them getting us. We'll have to fight.." Fang said as she held her ground.

"I was afraid you'd say that..." Yuffie sighed. "Get ready old man"

The men formed a line and ran towards the trio, sending a barrage of fire and lightning spells as they charged. Yuffie used her assortment of materia to shield them from the elemental onslaught and launched her weapon into the air towards the Disciple soldiers, slashing the throat of the closest before returning back to her.

"There's no way we can fight them all off..." Fang shook her head.

Just as the huntress spoke, three shots rang out from behind them, dropping three of the advancing soldiers. They all turned to find the silhouette of Vincent Valentine stood on the wall, his tattered red cape rippling in the breeze.

"Get over the wall..." He said calmly as he jumped down, landing in front of them.

"Vincent!" Yuffie shouted in sheer joy. "Am I glad to see you!"

"There are too many.. You must leave now..." The former turk said as he shot at the quickly advancing force.

"We ain't leavin' you to die!" Cid shouted, gripping his spear tightly.

"Get Fang out of here... She doesn't need to see this..." Vincent said to Yuffie, turning to make sure she could read the hidden message in his blood red eyes. _Chaos is coming. _"Cid, There is a packet of cigarettes waiting for you in the airship.. Get them out of here.."

"You heard the man! Let's go!" The pilot said with new found enthusiasm to leave.

Fang stood speechless, unsure if she wanted to kiss or punch the cloaked man who had came to their rescue. The option was taken away from her when Cid gripped her around the waist and threw her over his shoulder as Yuffie brought down the wall with her earth materia. The huntress kicked and screamed all of the way to the airship but the pilot's strength outweighed her own... Just...

Vincent watched as the three boarded the still camouflaged Phoenix airship and where out of sight before closing his eyes and calling upon the demonic power that resided inside of him. _For as long as you infest this body you shall submit your strength to me, demon... _Releasing a demonic roar that could be heard for miles, Vincent let the destructive power flood his body, transforming him into the winged demon, Chaos.

"We can't just leave him down there!" Fang said Just before she heard a bone shaking roar. "What the hell was that?!"

"You don't wanna know.." Cid said. "Trust me, you don't want to be anywhere near this place for a little while."

Fang stormed out of the bridge and to the outer deck for a better look at what was going on only to see the mass of men fleeing desperately from where they had left Vincent. The huntress' emerald eyes strained to focus on the figure that floated in the air, raining death down onto the men that were vaporized by dark blasts of light. Assuming it was another summon, Fang repelled down from the airship to assist Vincent, despite his orders for her to stay away. She ran to the crumbling wall and peered around its broken face to find the last soldier get his throat ripped out by a humanoid figure that had a mass of black and red spikes protruding from its head and red, bat like wings that were riddled with holes. It was then her eyes found the golden clawed gauntlet on its left hand. _….__Vincent?.._

The hand the huntress was using to keep her balance on the wall gave way as her concentration faded and she stumbled into the open, presenting herself to the demon's back. Suddenly becoming aware of her presence, Vincent turned to face her; his yellow eyes flickering back to crimson subconsciously, confirming his identity. Fang took a step towards the former turk, instantly causing him to step away. He could feel the beast, who's power he was controlling begin to fight its way out of the protomateria's chains as he looked at the brunette.

The woman that stood before him; the woman he valued above all else looked at him with a warm smile, unknowingly assisting in the demon's release. Vincent turned his head away in the hope that without the sight of her Chaos would stop but the pain grew worse.

_Give in to me... It is futile to resist..._

The voice made him worry even more that before, adding to the strain on his racing heart. He had always felt Chaos inside of him but he had not been strong enough to talk since they were first merged together. Vincent dropped to one knee and dug his clawed gauntlet into the ground as the battle for his body waged on. His eyes remained focused on the dirt below him until a pair of tanned knee's fell in front of his. The former turk looked up to see a pair of emerald eyes staring into his own with the greatest of concern as she raised her right hand and placed it gently on his face, in an attempt to relax him. Finally, taking his right hand with her left, she placed it onto her chest, right over her heart.

"Can you feel it? Look at me and count." She said softly, hoping that the slow and steady rhythm of her heart would somehow ease him of his pain.

Vincent felt the brunette's pulse through his fingertips and counted each one as he breathed slowly. To the long haired man's amazement, the pains faded and his form returned to the normal, human Vincent. He only managed another breath before his eyes stopped their resistance and he collapsed onto Fang's shoulder.

"So this was your secret..." She said to the unconscious man as she stroked his face.

"What part of run away do you have a problem with?" Cid asked as him and Yuffie appeared from behind the wall.

**(Rebel VS Disciple Battlefield)**

"Light! On ya left!" Barret shouted, as he took aim at the four Disciple soldiers that advanced on the pinkette.

Claire ducked just in time as the gun armed man unleashed a mass of bullets into the four enemies. The rose haired warrior continued cutting through the wave after wave of troops, keeping one eye on the blonde that was twenty yards in front, decimating all that stood before him. A stray bullet found it's way into the pinkette's shoulder pauldron, knocking her off balance but doing it's job in protecting her. Claire's mako eyes pierced into the shooter's eyes, freezing him on the spot. With her sword by her side she marched over to the man, only to watch a scarlet blade burst through his chest and blood pour from his mouth.

"My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow. No matter where the winds may blow.." Genesis said in his usual flamboyance.

"Great.. The poet..." Claire sighed. "Who's side are you on anyway?"

Cloud turned to check on the pinkette to find her staring down at Genesis, who's sword dripped with blood. Quickly sending bolts of lightning towards his nearest enemies, the blonde ran to her aid, separating one of the short swords from the main blade just before he struck.

"My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess." The auburn haired man strained as his sword clashed with the blonde's.

"You're no friend of mine.." Cloud said as he thrust his short sword at Genesis.

"Cloud, leave him to me. Go help the others." Claire said, determined to put an end to the man. "Please."

The blonde sighed but knew better than to argue with her so leaped back behind Claire and used his enemy skill materia to cast big guard on her, increasing her speed and resistance dramatically before returning to the front line.

"I thought you were helping the Disciples?" Claire asked as she spun the grip of the buster sword in her hand.

"I am not as petty to take sides in a pointless war.. I'm here to remove your tainted cells from the planet."

"Then why were you at the Disciple headquarters?" Claire questioned.

"I was searching for a friend but it matters not... I can do this on my own."

Claire swung her sword across Genesis' chest, missing him by an inch as he dove out of the way. Waves of fire erupted from his hands and shot at the pinkette who gracefully moved out of the way as she countered with a bolt of lightning. The red coated man received the full shock from Claire's spell but his relentless nature kept him focused.

"You fight better than the man who gave Cloud that sword... And his predecessor.." He said, shaking of his twitching muscles.

Claire reached over to her shoulder pauldron and pulled off the crimson orb that Tifa had found, gripping it tightly in her free hand. Unsure what was going to happen, the pinkette focused on the orb until she felt it shatter in her closed palm. In shock, Claire opened her hand to find a mass of tiny shards had chipped off the top of the orb, turning it from a perfectly smooth ball to a rose bud. The rose haired warrior's eyes took a moment to register what she was looking at and was distracted from the former soldier's blade, that he brought down on her with a killing blow.

Instantly, the sky went black, covering the battlefield in a veil of darkness, and a lone crimson lightning bolt descended from the sky, hitting the orb in her hand. Claire's mako eyes could not believe what she was seeing when the flash of lightning subsided and stood in front of her was Odin, using his serrated S shaped sword to block Genesis' attack.

"Odin!?" Claire shouted in amazement. "But how?"

_The woman who guards the lifestream has tasked me to protect you once more, master. _The pinkette heard the eidolon say in her mind.

Genesis looked visibly shaken by the colossal humanoid's sudden presence and backed off immediately to reevaluate the situation. Odin never gave the man chance to rest and pushed him across the battlefield with his emerald shield as Claire charged after him. Genesis felt his rubs crack with the force of Odin's strike and in his panic thrust his hand into his leather coat; pulling out a red materia of his own. He used it just in time to watch the ground that separated him from the pinkette crack and rise, blocking her view of him.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises... Nothing shall forestall my return.." Genesis heaved in pain.

The earth shook the battlefield, knocking all but a few soldiers off of their feet. Steam rose from the cracks that separated Claire from her target and was swiftly pulled back further by Odin, just as the ground erupted with a mass of flames that burst out of cracks across the war torn area.

"It's an Ifrit.." Cloud said as he joined Claire's side.

"What is?" The pinkette asked.

"Watch..."

A monstrous demon bust from the ground below, dripping in molten lava. It stood at the same height as Odin and had brown skin covering its muscular body and a bright orange mane like a lion. It's large ram like horns and legs where distinctly demonic and the flames that poured from its mouth send all but the braves soldiers running for their lives.

Cloud ran towards the demon summon, who's footsteps scorched the ground and set the bodies around its feet on fire. With his fusion sword dragging across the ground, the blonde thrust his sword into the beast, only to be batted off by it's powerful arm. Claire who was right behind him, ducked under the summon's swing and pushed the buster sword through it's arm and into the ground, pinning it in place. Odin leaped into the air and spun at great speed, throwing the arm that held his sword out as he landed, removing the head from Ifrit's shoulders, killing the beast.

Cloud limped back over to where Ifrit fell and pulled his Fusion sword from it's chest as it faded back into the ground. With it's job done, Odin knelt before his master and bowed before breaking up into thousands of tiny shards of crystal and evaporating into the atmosphere. Looking down on her sword she saw the crimson rosebud sat in the materia slot and smiled, happy that her faithful friend had been returned to her.

"Look at this place..." She said, looking round at the near silent battlefield. "Genesis has gone again.."

"We'll stop him eventually.." Cloud said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No..."

"Whats wrong?" Claire asked as she felt the blonde's hand leave her and him run away.

Cloud knelt beside Godo who had two crossbow bolts in his chest and on in his leg, as well as several bullet holes. The blonde removed the man's helmet and looked down on his bloodstained face before pulling out his phone and dialing.

"Yuffie... It's your father... I've found him... Yuffie, he's..."

**A/N: Okay that one was a little longer... I've had a little constructive criticism and I hope ive addressed it with his chapter. The battle was short but this was like a fort condor battle. The main 'fights' in the story will be huge. Now... to answer your questions. Yes that was the nibelhiem safe code, good call ;p. Yes the Genesis battles are supposed to be short. At the min he's kind of like the turks in ff7, they pop in and out with a short battle but he has a big part of the story which will all become clear eventually. It wasn't so much that I rushed it but it felt like I was having 6k chapters that consisted of them getting out of bed lol. Thought you deserved a bit of action. Geraze90 I was originally going for a police chase bit I decided him being tasered and having to get bailed out was funnier lol. Serah's baby... I was hoping it wouldn't be a 50/50 split so Autumn810 being the first gets the choice of girl. The big decision you have to make now is the cliffhanger i've left you with.. Does Yuffie's father live or die? You decide. Let me know what you think, and as always, thanks for reading.**


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